Five oil tankers that are owned by a Syrian conglomerate that were found to be using Guyana’s flag fraudulently have been sanctioned by the US Government.

The vessels were not registered in Guyana and therefore should not have been carrying Guyana’s flag as the country of registration.

In a statement, the Ministry of Public Works explained that Guyana through the Maritime Administration Department operates a closed registry and therefore the registration of vessels under the flag of Guyana is limited to ships owned by Guyanese nationals, residents, citizens of CARICOM states and corporate bodies established under the laws of Guyana. It said none of the owners of the vessels sanctioned by the US falls into any of the listed categories.

It was also noted that since 2021, incidents of false Guyana registration have been found and the perpertrators of the fraud have targeted several countries, including Guyana, Panama and other regional states.

The Maritime Administration Department said it will continue to share information on the false registrations with all United Nations member states and relevant regional and international maritime associations. In addition to sanctions being imposed by the US, the United Kingdom and other Western states have also imposed sanctions on the fraudulently registered vessels.

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