 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Staff Writers Seoul (AFP) Dec 30, 2017
The crew of a Hong Kong-registered ship have been detained for questioning in South Korea since their tanker was impounded in November for transferring oil to a North Korean vessel and breaching UN sanctions, customs officials said Saturday. The Lighthouse Winmore, which was chartered by a Taiwanese company, was impounded by South Korean customs authorities at the port of Yeosu on November 24 following an inspection. "Since then, inspectors have been coming on board and questioning the crew", a Korea Customs Service official told AFP. The Lighthouse Winmore has 25 crew members including 23 mainland Chinese citizens and two Myanmar nationals, another customs official at Yeosu said. The tanker, chartered by Taiwanese company Billions Bunker Group Corp., previously visited Yeosu on October 11 and loaded up on some 14,000 tonnes of Japanese refined oil before heading towards its purported destination in Taiwan. Instead of going to Taiwan, however, the vessel transferred 600 tonnes of oil to the North's Sam Jong 2 in international waters off China before returning to Yeosu, the customs service officials said. Earlier a foreign ministry official in Seoul had said the ship had been seized briefly by customs authorities who inspected it. Results of the investigation will be reported to the UN Security Council's sanctions committee, foreign ministry officials said. The Lighthouse Winmore is one of 10 ships the US has asked the Security Council to blacklist for violating sanctions against North Korea. Taipei said the Billions Bunker Group is not incorporated in Taiwan but in the Marshall Islands, and that it would "continue to fully comply" with UN sanctions against North Korea. Taiwan's transport ministry said it is investigating whether any Taiwanese entities were involved. The ship is owned by a Hong Kong-registered company called Win More Shipping Limited. There was nobody Friday at the address given for the firm on Hong Kong's companies registry. Four ships -- three North Korean vessels and a Palau-flagged oil tanker -- were blocked from international ports by the UN Security Council on Thursday over suspicions of carrying or transporting goods banned by sanctions targeting Pyongyang's weapons ambitions, according to the final list adopted by the world body. Even though the Sam Jong 2 was not among the four banned vessels, it appears on a list of six other ships suspected of transporting illicit cargo, along with the Lighthouse Winmore. The US had asked the Security Council to blacklist all 10 vessels, but China objected to the proposal, diplomats said, and only agreed to blacklist four ships on Thursday. The Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on North Korea this year: one on August 5 targeting the iron, coal and fishing industries, another set on September 11 aimed at textiles and limiting oil supply, and the most recent on December 22 focused on refined petroleum products. Pyongyang has slammed the latest sanctions as an "act of war" and on Saturday, the state-run KCNA news agency said in a commentary that the country would continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions. "The DPRK, an undeniable new strategic state and nuclear power...declares: Do not expect any change in its policy", it said, referring to the North by the abbreviation of its official name. "Its entity as an invincible power can neither be undermined nor be stamped out."
UN bars four N.Korean ships from international portsUnited Nations, United States (AFP) Dec 28, 2017 The UN Security Council on Thursday denied international port access to four North Korean ships suspected of carrying or having transported goods banned by international sanctions targeting Pyongyang, diplomats told AFP. The ban of the four vessels - the Ul Ji Bong 6, Rung Ra 2, Sam Jong 2 and Rye Song Gang 1 - brings the UN's total number of blocked ships to eight. The United States reque ... read more Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
