S. Korea seizes ship suspected of aiding North
Hong Kong-flagged tanker stands accused of violating U.N. sanctions with oil transfer
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has seized a Hong Kongflagged oil tanker accused of transferring 600 tons of refined oil to a North Korean ship in October in violation of United Nations sanctions, South Korean officials said Friday.
Officials revealed that they had impounded the 11,253-ton tanker, the Lighthouse Winmore, and questioned its crew. The revelation came a day after President Donald Trump accused China of letting fuel oil flow into North Korea through illicit ship-to-ship transfers on international waters.
There was no immediate evidence of official Chinese involvement in the Lighthouse Winmore’s dealings with the North Koreans. The registered owner of the ship is a Hong Kong company called Win More Shipping. The only director of that company is Gong Ruiqiang, who lives in Guangzhou, China, according to Hong Kong corporate filings. The ship was being leased by a Taiwanese company, South Korean Foreign Ministry officials told reporters Friday.
High-seas transactions
The Lighthouse Winmore docked at the South Korean port of Yeosu on Oct. 11 to load 14,039 tons of refined petroleum from Japan, they said. Four days later, it departed Yeosu, saying it was headed for Taiwan. Instead, it transferred the refined oil to four other ships in international waters, including 600 tons transferred to the North Korean ship Sam Jong 2 on Oct. 19, officials said.
A similar ship-to-ship transfer involving another North Korean ship, Rye Song Gang 1, was captured in satellite photos released by the U.S. Treasury Department on Nov. 21, although the department did not release the name of the other ship involved in the high-seas transaction.
South Korean authorities boarded the Lighthouse Winmore and questioned its crew members when they returned to Yeosu on Nov. 24. The ship was formally impounded by South Korea after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Dec. 22 requiring member countries to inspect and impound any vessel in their ports that was believed to have been used for prohibited activities with North Korea.
The Lighthouse Winmore remains in South Korean custody, officials said Friday. Its 25 crewmen — 23 Chinese citizens and two men from Myanmar — will be allowed to leave after the investigation is over.
Washington has called on the Security Council to blacklist 10 ships — including the Lighthouse Winmore, the Sam Jong 2 and the Rye Song Gang 1 — for circumventing sanctions by conducting ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels or transporting North Korean coal, Reuters reported, citing U.N. documents.
Denial from Chinese officials
The South Korean Foreign Ministry refused to confirm the Chosun Ilbo report, saying that the matter was being discussed at the Security Council’s sanctions committee.
But Chinese officials disputed the news media reports.
“I would like to know whether the relevant media could specify which ship or ships were involved in the situation?” Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said Wednesday. “What made them conclude that these ships violated the Security Council resolutions? Any solid evidence?”
Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry, was more categorical in denial: “The situation you have mentioned absolutely does not exist,” he told reporters Thursday.