Over 150 vessels added to SDN List
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, and the networks of entities they control, including Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd. (Nasdaq: PME) along with eight other affiliated entities. Additionally, this action identifies 157 People’s Republic of China (PRC) flagged fishing vessels in which these entities have an interest.
These actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. Today’s action demonstrates the U.S. government’s ongoing effort to impose tangible and significant consequences on those engaged in serious human rights abuse, including on those vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
On June 27, 2022, President Biden issued the Memorandum on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Associated Labor Abuses. The Memorandum notes that, if left unchecked, IUU fishing and associated labor abuses threaten the livelihoods and human rights of fishers around the world and will undermine U.S. economic competitiveness, national security, and fishery sustainability. Moreover, this behavior will exacerbate the environmental and socioeconomic effects…
