French company renews contract at Latakia port for second time despite sanctions

The French shipping company CMA CGM has renewed its contract with the Syrian regime at Latakia port, marking the second time such an agreement has been made, the Syria Report said last week, despite EU sanctions on companies that support or benefit President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The contract was due was due to expire in September but the regime invited the French company to bid for a renewal, according to the report.

The company reportedly controls 99 percent of the Latakia International Container Terminal (LICT) and had been managing it since 2009 after signing a contract to manage its operations for up to ten years.

The company signed its renewal contract in 2019 after its initial contract expired that same year.

According to reports, LICT's investments amount to around $45.9 million, including $6.2 million for maintenance and rehabilitation of infrastructure and an additional $6.2 million for purchasing equipment.

The Syrian Observer also reported that revenue from the container terminal is split between the port which receives 61.05 percent and 38.95 percent to the operating company.

EU sanctions

The company - which is the world's third-largest container shipping company - had faced US calls for sanctions for serving the whole region.

The New Arab has contacted CMA CGM for comments but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

However, the CMA CGM website states that they "strictly comply with regulations adopted by the international community such as but not limited to, the UN Resolutions, the EU regulations on restrictive measures against Syria as well as US Regulations governing shipments to/from Syria".

The European Union placed sanctions against the Assad regime in 2011, following the brutal repression of protests by regime forces which led to the outbreak of armed conflict in Syria.

The sanctions targeted the regime, its supporters, and various sectors of the economy from where the regime profits. 

Earlier this year, the EU extended restrictive measures against the Syrian regime until June 2025, citing the deteriorating situation in the country. 

In February 2020, foreign ministers of the EU also adopted sanctions against eight Syrian businesspeople and two Syrian entities for financially supporting the Assad regime.

Over 500,000 people have been killed in Syria since 2011, mostly as a result of regime bombardment of civilian areas. Millions more have been displaced internally or extrnally.