US Commerce chief Wilbur Ross divesting shipping interests, official says

Daniel Leal-Olivas | AFP | Getty Images

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross addresses delegates at the Confederation of British Industry conference in east London, on November 6, 2017.

An office of government ethics disclosure filed by Ross on June 20 showed that he sold an interest in Navigator valued at $15,001 to $50,000 on May 30.

The official did not provide an explanation for Ross’s divestitures. Ross had owned stakes in the firms through several partnerships.

Ross, a billionaire investor who is helping to shape Republican President Donald Trump’s trade policy, had told U.S. senators during his confirmation hearing in January that his research showed that retention of shipping interests would not present a conflict of interest. U.S. ocean shipping regulation is handled by the Federal Maritime Commission, a separate, independent agency.

Diamond S Shipping, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, operates 33 petroleum product tankers and 12 crude oil tankers operated under the flags of Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands and Malta.

Ross told media on Monday that he had nothing to do with London-based Navigator’s relationship with Sibur and had never met any of Sibur’s owners. These include Putin’s son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, and Gennady Timchenko, a Putin associate who is subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions.

Ross said in multiple media interviews that he had fully disclosed his stake in Navigator Holdings as part of government ethics requirements.