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UN Sanctions Stir Shipping Struggles for Russian Coal to China

North KoreaUN Sanctions Stir Shipping Struggles for Russian Coal to China
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A Russian company has once again circulated a ship-wanted notice in the shipping industry, seeking a vessel to transport coal from North Korea’s Najin port to China’s Dalian port. This suggests that finding a ship willing to carry coal to North Korea appears to be challenging under the current circumstances.

According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 26th, a ship-wanted notice seeking a vessel to transport Russian coal to China has been redistributed in the shipping industry. This comes about two weeks after a broker, acting on behalf of a Russian company, initially circulated the notice. 

However, the content of the notice has changed from the previous version. While typical ship wanted notices usually contain brief information such as departure and destination ports, and cargo details, this time it includes a verbose background explanation stating, “We intend to transport Russian coal to China under the UN resolution,” adding, “As part of the resolution, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will notify the UN Security Council of the coal mining company, the buyer and recipient in China, the port of discharge in China, the name of the vessel, the date of shipment in North Korea, and the date of discharge in China.”

The notice also emphasized, “We confirm that all relevant parties are not subject to North Korean sanctions and are acting within the framework of the Security Council resolution.”

Regarding this, an expert in the shipping industry told VOA, “It appears that the ship search is not progressing,” adding, “The fact that ships are still loading coal from North Korea is evidence that it is a burden on the shipping industry.”

The United Nations Security Council has completely banned the export of North Korean minerals, including coal. However, an exception to the sanctions has been recognized for Russian coal loaded in the Najin-Hassan area, which is operated jointly by North Korea and Russia.

Therefore, while the coal specified in the notice is of Russian origin and not subject to UN sanctions, there is concern within the shipping industry that it could still face unilateral sanctions from certain countries such as the United States. This apprehension has led to a reluctance within the shipping industry to handle cargo originating from North Korea.

In the past, notices seeking vessels to transport Russian coal from Najin port to China and Vietnam have been distributed several times, but exports have been canceled due to a lack of responding vessels.

VOA previously reported that the broker had issued a notice on the 8th seeking a vessel to transport a total of 10,000 tons of Russian coal from North Korea’s Najin port to China’s Dalian port. The broker then issued another notice increasing the coal amount to 15,000 tons. Typically, when such a notice is issued, global shipping companies and charters bid to the broke. The transportation opportunity is awarded to the vessel offering the best conditions. 

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