A vessel sanctioned for smuggling North Korean coal docked at a Chinese port last week, despite its UN designation requiring it be prohibited from using foreign ports.
The 10,000 tonne, formerly Panamanian-flagged, Hua Fu was sanctioned by the UN in March for its role exporting DPRK coal from North Korea to Vietnam numerous times in 2017.
“The Hua Fu loitered off Penglai and Shidao, before delivering coal to Cam Pha on 14 September,” the UN Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring North Korean sanctions enforcement wrote in their most recent report.
“It then again loaded coal on 23 September in Najin, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and attempted to deliver it to Cam Pha, claiming its origin as Nakhodka, despite not having visited any Russian ports for over a year.”
North Korea is prohibited from exporting most of its raw materials, a list which includes coal, iron, copper, zinc, gold, and silver, among others.
The ship’s owner – Chang An Shipping and Technology – was also designated as the “registered owner, ship manager, and commercial manager of Panama-flagged vessel Hua Fu, a cargo ship that loaded DPRK coal at Najin, DPRK on September 24, 2017,” the UN said in a press release accompanying the designations.
The same press release also outlined how the Hua Fu is “subject to de-flagging pursuant to paragraph 12 of resolution 2321 (2016) and prohibited from port entry pursuant to paragraph 6 of resolution 2371 (2017).”
