Uchenna Izundu
TANZANIA: The government of Zanzibar terminated its agency agreement with Philtex (Belize) Ltd, which is based in Dubai, effective from 13 October, 2014.
Philtex had an exclusive ten year contract to manage the Tanzania Zanzibar International Register of Shipping (TZIRS). In a notice issued by Dr Malik Akil Juma, the principal secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communications, he said that the "government was setting up an administrative office to manage TZIRS in Sharjah, UAE supported in marketing on specific agreement by Alkhaleej Industries FZE, UAE".
All ships registered under the TZIRS flag are now required to report to the Zanzibar Maritime Authority within two months.
The US government has mounted pressure on the Zanzibar government, the semi-autonomous island off of Tanzania, over the past couple of years to sever ties with Philtex following allegations that the agency was registering Iranian vessels under the Tanzanian flag, despite sanctions against Iran.
Zanzibar signed an agreement with Philtex in 2007, registering about 406 ships. Last year, Minister for Infrastructure and Communication, Rashid Seif Suleiman informed the House of Representatives that it had deregistered 33 Iranian oil tankers.
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