WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2019) The United States has included the Russian ships Tantal and Vitayz on a newly published list of vessels it believes are supplying petroleum to North Korea in violation of US sanctions, the Treasury Department said in a notice on its website on Thursday.
The list was published as a new annex in the Treasury Department's Updated Guidance on Addressing North Korea's Illicit Shipping Practices.
"The new fourth annex provides a list of 18 vessels that are believed to have engaged in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum with North Korean tanker vessels," the guidance said.
The list, called "Vessels That Are Believed To Have Engaged In Ship-To-Ship Transfers with North Korean Tankers," Names the Russian vessels Tantal and Vityaz, along with 16 other ships from Singapore, Panama and other countries.
"This annex is not a sanctions list or a comprehensive list of vessels in which blocked persons may have an interest. While some vessels on this list may be property in which a blocked person has an interest, the inclusion of a vessel in this annex does not constitute a determination by OFAC that the vessel has been identified as property in which a blocked person has an interest," the Treasury said.
The United States, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom have notified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the "deceptive practices" that North Korea uses to avoid sanctions and have urged all IMO member states to be aware of such activities, the Treasury notice said.
"The United States requests that UN Member States, port state control authorities, and flag registries provide this advisory to all relevant persons in their jurisdictions," the Treasury added.
The Treasury's updated guidance also included a new list of 49 vessels that the US believes have helped North Korea export coal in violation of sanctions.
The Treasury also provided new guidance for UN member states and shipping industry officials to help them avoid illicit North Korean maritime trade.
The advisory detailed some of North Korea's deceptive shipping practices, including disabling or manipulating automated identification systems, physically altering vessels, conducting ship-to-ship transfers; and falsifying cargo documentation
Earlier in the day, the Treasury announced that it had imposed sanctions on two shipping companies based in China - Dalian Haibo International Freight and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding - for allegedly violating North Korea sanctions.
