Update on EU sanctions against Côte d’Ivoire

The London P&I Club - The News Alerts Team - 28 April 2011

Members will recall the previous News Alert of 16 February 2011 in respect of sanctions against Côte d’Ivoire. The sanctions designated various persons/entities, including both the Port of Abidjan and the Port of San Pedro, as subject to an asset freeze and prohibition on making funds and economic resources available to them. We are now able to update Members as follows:-

Council Regulation (EU) No. 348/2011 (for full text click here), published on 12 April, removes four entities from the list of designated persons:

(i) Port of Abidjan
(ii) Port of San Pedro
(iii) Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR), the Ivorian Refining Company
(iv) Comite de Gestion de la Filiere Café et Cacao (CGFCC), the Coffee and Cocoa Trade Management Committee

There is therefore no longer a prohibition on paying port dues and other expenses to the port authorities, nor on making funds or economic resources available to SIR or CGFCC.

However, Members should also note that sanctions against Côte d’Ivoire are still otherwise in place and indeed, previous to the above, on 6 April 2011, a further EU Regulation (Council Regulation (EU) No 330/2011) was implemented which imposed additions to the list of persons/entities subject to an asset freeze. This was published in the wake of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975 (2011) of 30 March 2011 which amongst other things, recognised the election of Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and reaffirmed the commitment to bring sanctions against additional individuals meeting certain criteria. The broad effect of EU Regulation No 330/2011 is as follows:

(i) to add further persons to the list of those required by the EU to be subject to asset freezes
(ii) to provide further grounds on which competent authorities may license derogations from the asset freezing prohibitions; and
(iii) to include additional restrictive measures relating to bonds, securities and loans.

For a full text of EU Regulation No 330/2011 along with the full list of the sanctioned persons/entities click here. For a full text of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1975 (2011), please click here. Members should further note that HM Treasury has issued helpful guidance on EU Regulation No 330/2011 (click here).

The London Steam-Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association Limited, press release