Insurance Company Hit With Small Fine for Insuring North Korean Ships

Vigorously going after companies doing business with North Korea should be the centerpiece of any policy seeking to put pressure on the Kim regime, however small punishments like this are not going to dissuade companies from continuing to business with the regime:

The U.S. Department of Treasury fined a New York based company $271,000 on Thursday for insuring North Korean ships between 2008 and 2011.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the company, called Navigation, was responsible for 48 sanctions violations involving vessels from Iran, Cuba and North Korea.

“Between May 8, 2008 and April 1, 2011, Navigators and its London, U.K. branch (“Navigators U.K.”) issued global protection and indemnity (“P&I”) insurance policies that provided coverage to North Korean-flagged vessels,” the OFAC press release reads.

Representatives from Navigator’s Chinese and London offices declined to comment on the news.

According to the OFAC statement, over the course of three years North Korea paid Navigator more than $1 million for 24 insurance policies. The company also paid out over $12,000 for seven claims during the same period.

Navigation cooperated with OFAC and took action quickly, which in part mitigated the fine.

Exactly who insures North Korean ships has been the cause of much speculation, with a minimum level of coverage mandatory in order to make use of foreign ports and international waterways.  [North Korea News]

You can read the rest at the link.