by Lloyd's List

9 August (Lloyd's List) - THE United Arab Emirates has added the flag state of Eswatini to its list of vessels banned from its ports unless classed by a member of the International Association of Classification Societies.

In a circular dated August 6 to port authorities, harbour masters and other marine service providers, the Federal Maritime Administration said it was restricting calls from Eswatini-flagged ships to its ports and waters.

This is the 10th flag state banned from UAE waters which includes Albania, Belize, North Korea, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tonga, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, and Cameroon.

The landlocked country of Eswatini has faced scrutiny over its operations with vessels flagged by a new registry purportedly with the permission of the government declared as “false” by the International Maritime Organization.

There are currently 25 vessels flagged by the registry, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, including three very large crude carriers and two aframaxes linked to shipping US-sanctioned Iranian oil.

Several other tankers recently sanctioned by Western regulators have also found refuge with Eswatini, which allows for instant, provisional online registration of vessels.

At least two Eswatini-flagged ships were signalling their position via AIS at the Khor Fakkan anchorage on August 9, Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel tracking data shows.

Chemical tanker Astra 1 (IMO: 9254422) and aframax Prada (IMO: 9213301) have both been in the area since the ban, according to their AIS signals.

None have IACS class.

Another aframax, Apus (IMO: 9299745), had briefly spent time at the anchorage in late July, but sailed further out into international waters and switched off its AIS.