US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI607

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 000607 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SECSTATE FOR NEA/ENA 
AMCONSUL DUBAI FOR PCO JOHN LANCIA 
USDOC FOR 3131 ITA/OIO/ANESA 
USDOC FOR 532 BIS/OEE FOR WAFO/JBANKINS 
USDOC FOR 532 BIS/OEE FOR INTELL DIV 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ETTC, TC 
SUBJECT: ON-SITE VISIT TO INTERGULF/EMPOL LTD, SHARJAH, UAE 
 
1.  On January 28, 2003, Commercial Officer Mary O'Brien met 
with Srinivasan Kartikeya and Adeeb Yawar of Intergulf, 
Ltd., Sharjah, UAE, regarding the shipment of a single 
spindle gun drill.  Intergulf had previously reported to 
Comoff O'Brien that this shipment had been stopped in the 
U.S. at the request of U.S. authorities, i.e., the Office of 
Export Enforcement (OEE). 
 
2.  Intergulf's premises are located on the premises of Port 
Khalid in Sharjah.  A Gate Pass authorized by Intergulf (and 
5 AED, or 1.35 USD) was required for Comoff to enter the 
port.   Intergulf is a subsidiary of IFFCO, a UAE company 
established in 1975 and heavily involved in food processing 
and packaging, personal care and cleaning products, 
industrial products and logistical services.  Intergulf 
occupies two large buildings on the port.  Intergulf itself 
has three divisions, two for the production of PET plastic 
containers and PVC for industrial use and a third for 
logistics and shipping. 
 
3.  At the port and in a very clean and modern facility, 
Intergulf/Empol manufactures plastic forms for liquid 
containers.  These forms resemble large test tubes and are 
later blown out to form plastic water bottles, soft drink 
bottles and bottles for vegetable oils.  During this 
process, molten plastic is molded around hollow metal tubes 
that are filled with chilled water to speed the cooling and 
forming process.  One line has tubes that are about the size 
and shape of a hair curling iron.  The molding machines are 
initially supplied with molds, but in the course of the 
manufacturing process, they may break or become damaged.  If 
this occurs, Mr. Yawar said Intergulf/Empol has a machining 
shop where they can make new molds or repair damaged ones. 
Comoff viewed the machine shop where molds are made from 
solid steel rods, using CNC machine tools (2- and 3-axis). 
The molds must be hollowed out to accommodate the water for 
cooling.  Mr. Yawar explained that this is why the gun drill 
is required, specifically to hollow out rods that are 
approximately 1 to 1 1/2" in diameter.  During the visit to 
the machine shop Comoff saw other molds that had been 
hollowed out and Mr. Kartikeya said the machines they 
currently use are not suitable for the smaller molds. 
 
4.  Comoff O'Brien explained to Mssrs. Yawar and Kartikeya 
that an export license was required and since none of the 
U.S. parties were willing to apply for the license, 
Intergulf's only other recourse would be to retain a party 
in the U.S. to apply for the license on behalf of Intergulf. 
They explained that the seller had agreed to refund the 
money to Intergulf and they might have to agree to that if 
they could find no one who would apply for the license for 
them.  Comoff O'Brien also explained that in the event of 
future such purchases, Intergulf might want to clarify with 
their supplier who would have the responsibility for getting 
any needed export license before payment is made.  Mssrs. 
Yawar and Kartikeya agreed to the conduct of a post-shipment 
verification if the export of this or any similar machine is 
authorized by an export license. 
 
5.  Comment:  While Intergulf/Empol is a legitimate company 
with a legitimate, if perhaps occasional, need for metal 
drilling and boring machinery, Comoff has no way of knowing 
whether the machine in question would be appropriate for 
such an end use.  In addition, Intergulf's logistics and 
shipping activities at its portside location could make it 
easy for such an item to be shipped from the UAE to another 
destination. 
 
6.  On February 3, Comoff O'Brien received a telephone call 
from Carolyn Stern of Direct Container Line (DCL).  DCL was 
the non-vessel owner common carrier originally contracted to 
ship the machine.  Ms. Stern said she had received an email 
from her agent in the UAE stating the US Embassy had 
approved this export using `DCL's export license'.  Comoff 
emphasized that no such approval had been given and 
reiterated that only the Office of Export Enforcement could 
release the shipment.  Ms. Stern stated the machine is not 
in her custody and is still at the premises of the exporter 
in Cincinnati. 
 
7.  Please advise if BIS/OEE requires any additional 
information regarding Intergulf. 
 
WILLIAMS