Swordsmyth
07-12-2018, 05:09 PM
The United States has petitioned the UN to reprimand Russia and China for allegedly selling oil products to North Korea in violation of caps placed on petroleum sales as part of a larger sanctions package, reports the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-urges-u-n-to-reprimand-china-and-russia-for-selling-oil-products-to-north-korea-1531411312?mod=hp_lead_pos2).
The U.S. State Department called on Russia and other U.N. members to “strictly implement” sanctions on North Korea while working “more closely together to shut down U.N.-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea.”
Chinese vessels were "caught red handed" (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-26/us-spy-satellites-catch-chinese-ships-illegally-selling-oil-north-korea) last year by US spy satellites illegally selling oil to North Korea last year in around 30 transactions involving Chinese vessels, while a Hong Kong ship (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-29/hong-kong-ship-seized-after-transferring-oil-north-korea) was seized in December after it was seen transferring oil to the Kim regime. The images allegedly showed large Chinese and North Korean ships transacting in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea. The surveillance photographs even showed the names of the ships.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/china%20ships%20refueling%20north%20korea_0_1.jpg
Meanwhile, Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)reported in December that'two senior Western European security sources' confirmed Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea.
Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)' sources said the Russian-flagged tanker Vityaz (http://www.ships.lv/en/vessels/8125703-vityaz.html)was one vessel that had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/vityaz%20tanker%202_1.jpg The Vityaz oil products tankerYaroslav Guk - director at the company which owns the Vityaz, Alisa Ltd, said the vessel did not have any contact with North Korean ships, according to Reuters.
“Absolutely no, this is very dangerous,” Guk told Reuters by telephone. “It would be complete madness.”
Reuters' sources say otherwise:
The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.
“The Russian vessels made transfers at sea to the North Koreans,” the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The source said the transfers of oil or oil products took place on several occasions and were a breach of sanctions.
A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the latest transfers.
“There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans,” the second European security source said. -Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)
Two more Russia flagged tankers made similar journeys llast October and November, leaving from the ports of Slavyanka and Nakhodka "into open seas where they switched off their transponders," according to shipping data.
Meanwhile, last September Reuters reported that a minimum of eight North Korean vessels had left Russian ports loaded up with fuel and headed for home despite declaring other destinations in a ploy to get around the sanctions.
A Russian shipping source with knowledge of Far Eastern marine practices said North Korean vessels had stopped loading fuel in Russia’s Far Eastern ports but that fuel is delivered at sea by tankers using ship-to-ship transfers, or even by fishing vessels. -Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)
The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back, saying that they were observing sanctions against North Korea, while the Russian Customs Service would not comment to Reuters on Wednesday when asked if Russian ships had supplied fuel to North Korea.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-12/us-blasts-china-russia-over-sneaky-oil-sales-north-korea-urges-un-action
The U.S. State Department called on Russia and other U.N. members to “strictly implement” sanctions on North Korea while working “more closely together to shut down U.N.-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea.”
Chinese vessels were "caught red handed" (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-26/us-spy-satellites-catch-chinese-ships-illegally-selling-oil-north-korea) last year by US spy satellites illegally selling oil to North Korea last year in around 30 transactions involving Chinese vessels, while a Hong Kong ship (https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-12-29/hong-kong-ship-seized-after-transferring-oil-north-korea) was seized in December after it was seen transferring oil to the Kim regime. The images allegedly showed large Chinese and North Korean ships transacting in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea. The surveillance photographs even showed the names of the ships.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/china%20ships%20refueling%20north%20korea_0_1.jpg
Meanwhile, Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)reported in December that'two senior Western European security sources' confirmed Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea.
Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)' sources said the Russian-flagged tanker Vityaz (http://www.ships.lv/en/vessels/8125703-vityaz.html)was one vessel that had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels.
https://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/vityaz%20tanker%202_1.jpg The Vityaz oil products tankerYaroslav Guk - director at the company which owns the Vityaz, Alisa Ltd, said the vessel did not have any contact with North Korean ships, according to Reuters.
“Absolutely no, this is very dangerous,” Guk told Reuters by telephone. “It would be complete madness.”
Reuters' sources say otherwise:
The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.
“The Russian vessels made transfers at sea to the North Koreans,” the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The source said the transfers of oil or oil products took place on several occasions and were a breach of sanctions.
A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the latest transfers.
“There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans,” the second European security source said. -Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)
Two more Russia flagged tankers made similar journeys llast October and November, leaving from the ports of Slavyanka and Nakhodka "into open seas where they switched off their transponders," according to shipping data.
Meanwhile, last September Reuters reported that a minimum of eight North Korean vessels had left Russian ports loaded up with fuel and headed for home despite declaring other destinations in a ploy to get around the sanctions.
A Russian shipping source with knowledge of Far Eastern marine practices said North Korean vessels had stopped loading fuel in Russia’s Far Eastern ports but that fuel is delivered at sea by tankers using ship-to-ship transfers, or even by fishing vessels. -Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-russia-oil-exclus/exclusive-russian-tankers-fueled-north-korea-via-transfers-at-sea-sources-idUSKBN1EN1OJ)
The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back, saying that they were observing sanctions against North Korea, while the Russian Customs Service would not comment to Reuters on Wednesday when asked if Russian ships had supplied fuel to North Korea.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-12/us-blasts-china-russia-over-sneaky-oil-sales-north-korea-urges-un-action