China sacntioned five of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean’s U.S. subsidiaries. This step is escalating tensions with Washington over their alleged involvement in a probe into the Chinese shipping industry.
The sanctioned subsidiaries are Hanwha Shipping LLC, Hanwha Philly Shipyard Inc., Hanwha Ocean USA International LLC, Hanwha Shipping Holdings LLC and HS USA Holdings Corp., according to a statement from China’s Commerce Ministry.
The order, effective immediately, will prohibit Chinese organizations and individuals from doing business with the sanctioned companies, the ministry said, adding that the move was intended to safeguard China’s sovereignty and security.
Earlier Tuesday, Beijing confirmed it had begun collecting the additional port fees on U.S.-linked vessels while clarifying that Chinese-built ships would be exempted from the charges.
The move followed the U.S. decision to impose steep fees on Chinese ships docking at American ports starting Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EDT. China retaliated with a similar charge of 400 yuan ($56) per net ton on American vessels, starting on the same day. Container vessels can range from 50,000 to 220,000 tons.
In a separate statement, China’s Ministry of Transport said it had launched an investigation into the impact of Washington’s Section 301 probe of Chinese shipping and shipbuilding industries.
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