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Case No. SOM-2017-339163-1
James A. Saville, Jr.
Hill Rivkins LLP
45 Broadway, Suite 1500
New York, NY 10006
Dear Mr. Saville:
This responds to your letter dated January 5, 2017 (the “Application”) to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) requesting guidance, or alternatively a license, on behalf of Valero Marketing and Supply Company, a Delaware corporation, and certain U.S. cargo underwriters to engage in certain transactions as part of a settlement agreement related to the hijacking of the M/T SAMHO DREAM by Somali pirates on April 4, 2010. We understand from the Application that this request is related to a prior application for guidance, Case No. SOM-3, which was returned without action on July 15, 2010.
Executive Order (E.O.) 13536 of April 12, 2010, as amended by E.O. 13620 of July 20,...
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1) BACKGROUND
On April 12, 2010, the president issued EO 13536, designating the entity Al-Shabaab (also an FTO/SDGT) and 11 individuals, two of whom were described as being central to Somali piracy activities. See https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/8531/download?inline (“Information on Persons Listed in the Annex to E.O. 13536 of April 12, 2010”). One individual was described as “a key organizer, recruiter, financier and commander of a maritime militia consisting of approximately 500 operating pirates, with responsibility for hijacking between 25 and 60 shipping vessels since the mid-1990s.” The other was “a principal organizer and financier of pirate activities”.
As evident from the guidance letter, on April 4, 2010 (just one week prior to the issuance of EO 13536), the M/T SAMHO DREAM was hijacked by Somali pirates. According to court filings (see PDF), the...