A US federal court on Friday seized an oil tanker believed to have been used to supply North Korea. This contravenes US sanctions against Pyongyang.
The US Department of Justice said in a statement that the M/T Courageous transported petroleum products to North Korean-flagged vessels and delivered shipments at the North Korean port of Nampo.
A New York federal judge’s decision to confiscate the ship means the US government now owns the 2,734-ton tanker.
through US banks
The former owner and operator of the Singaporean oil tanker Kwik Ke Singh is wanted by US authorities as a partner in money laundering.
“Kwik and his associates were involved in a massive scheme to circumvent United States and United Nations sanctions by using ships under their control to smuggle fuel to North Korea and provide the North Korean government with a vital source of revenue,” the Justice Department said. .
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The statement stated that M/T Courageous was purchased with US dollars that were passed through US banks “without their knowledge”. Cambodia, where the M/T Courageous docked, had already captured the vessel in March 2020 at the request of the United States.
bad economic situation
North Korea’s economy has been sluggish for years due to the numerous international sanctions imposed in response to the country’s banned military and nuclear programs.
At the end of June, the US Special Representative for North Korea urged members of the United Nations Security Council to agree to resolutions against Pyongyang, which are aimed at restricting North Korea’s imports of oil and its exports of, among other things, coal, textiles and fish. to be strictly enforced.
