On May 23, Voice of America (VOA) reported that a North Korean oil tanker was spotted heading towards Russia in international waters.
According to Marine Traffic, which shows ship location information, the North Korean oil tanker Chon Ma San’s signal was first detected in the West Sea of South Korea. It was shown to be moving east after turning its bow about 68 miles northeast of Shanghai, China at 2 AM (CST) on May 23. VOA mentioned that Chon Ma San is heading towards the East Sea of North Korea, expecting the final destination to be a port in the East Sea of North Korea or even the Far East region of Russia. However, the passage may change, considering that North Korean ships usually change direction when passing through the Korean Strait.
VOA also pointed out that considering past cases, it cannot be ruled out that Chon Ma San is heading to a specific area for ship-to-ship transfers or illegal activities.
Especially since the summit in September 2023, North Korea and Russia have been expanding their cooperation despite sanctions on North Korea. It is interpreted that Chon Ma San may be sailing for fuel shipments from Russia. Chon Ma San is a ship that was put on the sanctions list in 2018 for illegal transfers and crude oil transportation. At that time, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea ordered that all assets of Chon Ma San should be frozen while prohibiting entry.
The UN Security Council has limited North Korea’s refined oil imports to 500,000 barrels per year, but it is understood that Russia has already exceeded its quota for 2024.
Meanwhile, North Korea is also known to have purchased second-hand ships in violation of sanctions on North Korea.
According to the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Mongolian ship Peace Envoy changed its shipment to North Korea and changed its name to Ryonghyon in November 2023.
The Ryonghyon was registered under the name of the Enthusiastic Trading Company and is located in the Rakrang District of Pyongyang. Built in 2005, it has a total carrying tonnage of 1806 tons (t).
The UN Security Council has prohibited the sale of ships to North Korea and even purchased North Korean ships through sanctions in 2016. Unfortunately, North Korea continues to purchase second-hand ships.
VOA quoted GISIS as saying that North Korea purchased at least 40 second-hand ships in 2023 alone.