South Korea: Previous Allegations of Ship-to-Ship Transfers
Some South Korean companies have allegedly been involved in illegal ship-to-ship transfers with North Korea. Experts say South Korea may not take active enforcement regarding the problem, as there are other policy priorities to be dealt with first. However, there are serious implications and cost involved for this approach. By Sunny Um, South Korea correspondent, Maritime Fairtrade
The allegations on illicit ship-to-ship transfers against South Korean ships started from a couple of years ago.
In October 2018, a South Korea-flagged ship named P Pioneer was detained at the port of Busan for an alleged illegal maritime activity.
During the six months of detainment, the US authorities investigated whether the vessel has transferred refined oil products to North Korea via a ship-to-ship transfer. Trading refined oil products with North Korea is prohibited by the sanctions imposed by the UN. South Korea’s probe later found that the ship did not breach the sanctions “deliberately” and released it.
Another well-known case is a tanker named Lunis being seized and inspected by South Korean customs agents in April 2019. A month before that, the United States had flagged this vessel that it could have been involved in a ship-to-ship transfer with North Korean ships.
The ship was searched upon entry at the Port of Yeosu. However, the authorities said that they did not find anything unusual.
Some reports say that both ships were under suspicion as they lied about their destinations and did not send location signals. P Pioneer, for example, reported Singapore as the final destination. It departed Ulsan, South Korea in May 2018 and entered Singaporean waters two months later.
However, it stayed in international waters for six days during the course. Also, on the journey after that, the vessel had turned off its Automatic Identification System.
The South Korean government has repeatedly said that none of the allegations of illegal ship-to-ship transfers against the country’s ships is true.
