Tanzania denies sanctions busting

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania yesterday denied allegations that North Korean ships had been flying Tanzania’s flag in violation of international sanctions on Pyongyang.

Abdullah Hussein, the director-general of the Zanzibar Maritime Authority, called the allegations “void”. He said Tanzania was tied by UN resolutions that targeted North Korea with sanctions over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes.

NK News, a research and analysis group, reported on its website this month that nearly 50 vessels owned by or linked to North Korea had changed their flags to Tanzanian since March.

The ships are thought to be registered by the Tanzania Zanzibar International Register of Shipping under the Zanzibar Maritime Authority.

Tanzania had been taking action, including deregistering all vessels deemed to be contravening international sanctions, after allegations in 2013 that some Iranian ships carried the Tanzanian flag, Hussein said.

North Korea, which held its latest nuclear test last month, has been accused by a UN panel of experts of trying to conceal its ships’ origins.

The panel’s report early this year singled out North Korea’s Ocean Maritime Management Company Ltd.

It said it “continues to operate through foreign-flagged vessels, names and company reregistrations, and the rental of crews to foreign ships”, despite being on the UN sanctions blacklist since July 2014. – AP