In an effort to counter European Union sanctions banning insurance on shipments of Iranian oil, Iran government has allocated billions of dollars to insure its oil tankers itself, an official from Iran's insurance industry said.


�After the European Union imposed insurance sanctions on Iranian tankers ... the government has allocated billions of dollars for insuring Iranian tankers that export Iranian oil,� Fars news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.

According to the official, the government has already transferred about 10 percent of the sum to Iran's central insurance company.

The European Union imposed a ban on July 1st on insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil, preventing EU insurers and reinsurers from covering tankers carrying Iran�s crude anywhere in the world.


Japan had completely halted Iranian crude imports in July because of the lack of cover, but earlier this month industry sources said Japanese insurers were expanding their maritime coverage to allow more domestic tankers to transport Iranian crude.