Sanctions Monitoring Program
Sanctions Monitoring Program
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Consistent with Cook Islands Government policy, Maritime Cook Islands (MCI), as the Administrator of the Cook Islands Ship Registry monitors and enforces sanctions compliance
MCI requires all Cook Islands-flagged vessels to comply with UN, OFAC, UK and EU sanctions.
Cook Islands-registered tankers are prohibited from trading in Russian, Iranian, or Venezuelan petroleum or petroleum-products.
This prohibition includes trade in such products with other vessels.
The prohibition forms part of MCI’s vessel monitoring framework to detect and prevent association with sanctioned vessels, entities, and deceptive shipping practices.
Vessels, owners and managers not in compliance with these prohibitions will be de-registered. MCI will also investigate any vessels, owners, managers, or associated entities with demonstrable links to prohibited activity, and will remove them from the registry where such links are confirmed.
The Sanctions Monitoring program includes:
Insurers
- All insurers undergo onboarding and annual vetting in accordance with IMO guidelines on accepting insurance providers. Insurers that are unable to comply will not be authorised service providers to Cook Island flagged vessels.
Pre-registration
- Comprehensive customer due diligence of owners, commercial operators, ISM managers and other persons of interest
- A detailed vessel vetting that includes ownership, previous flagging, ISM manager’s history and performance, statutory certification, detentions, abandonment and incidents history.
During registration
- Ongoing compliance screening is carried out for companies and individuals
- Shipping activities are monitored daily through the newly established Monitoring Division, responsible for real time vessel tracking with intelligence software that identifies and alerts suspicious and illicit activity; i.e. going dark by disabling or manipulating the Automatic Identification System (“AIS”) spoofing; ship-to-ship transfers (“STS”); voyage irregularities.
Consequences of suspicious and illicit activity
Alerts are treated seriously with immediate action and if required an investigation will be conducted.
Vessels found to be engaged or complicit in suspicious or illicit activity will be de-registered.
Maritime Cook Islands is committed to create awareness and assist in combatting bad actors by reporting necessary information to relevant Cook Islands government agencies and other external sanction monitoring bodies.
Maritime Cook Islands is committed to continuously adapting and refining its approach to the complex and dynamic landscape of sanction risk monitoring and compliance.
Links to MCI circulars below:
For further details please contact monitoring@maritimecookislands.com