KYC (Know Your Counterparty)

Due diligence to identify and verify the parties to a maritime transaction (the charterer, owner, manager, broker, and cargo interests) and their beneficial owners before contracting. It draws on the customer-due-diligence duty in FATF Recommendation 10, adapted to shipping’s chartering chain. The checks confirm identity, screen against sanctions lists, map the ownership structure, and assess sanctions and money-laundering risk. Weak KYC is the documented entry point for sanctions evasion, where a designated principal hides behind a clean-looking front company.