'Iran renaming ships to circumvent arms, nuclear sanctions'

'Iran renaming ships to circumvent arms, nuclear sanctions'.(JPost).Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines has renamed 90 of its 123 ships since 2008 in efforts to dodge sanctions, study finds; "Iranian ships are being shuffled like a deck of cards in a Las Vegas casino.”Using a series of legal loopholes, Iran has renamed over a dozen cargo ships in the past year as it seeks to circumvent sanctions on arms transfers and the supply of nuclear-related equipment, according to a new study released on Monday.The report was published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and included an analysis of reported incidents of illicit arms and drug transfers in recent years. Last March, Navy commandos seized the Victoria, which was transporting 50 tons of weaponry - including advanced radar-guided anti-ship missiles - to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ship was owned by a German company and was flying a Liberian flag.The report, Griffiths said, was the culmination of two years of work by SIPRI during which it created the Vessel and Maritime Incident Database which contains information on countries and shipping lines suspected of illicit activity.Read the full story here.