PYONGYANG — North Korea has utilized a shadow fleet of vessels to export sanctioned coal through ship-to-ship transfers, employing deceptive practices. These practices include falsified flag registrations, manipulation of Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions, and the use of front companies linked to covert maritime operations. Over a decade of U.N. Panel of Experts reports have documented North Korean maritime sanctions evasion.
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) North Korea reports database indicates that North Korean vessels have used flag registries from Sierra Leone, Panama, and Cambodia. The International Transport Workers' Federation classifies Sierra Leone and Panama as flags of convenience. These flags permit vessels to register with little or no connection to the flag state.
In 2017, more than 90 vessels claimed registration with Fiji, with 20 of these linked to North Korea. Cambodia and Mongolia are frequently used flag states for North Korean vessels. Sovereign Ventures, a Singapore-based company, operates shipping registries for Cambodia, Mongolia, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Niue. This company has maintained ties to Korasia, a North Korean entity. The vessels Theresa Begonia, Pong Su, and Jie Shun, which are linked to North Korea, all utilized flags associated with Sovereign Ventures.
The cargo vessel Pu Zhou was sold to a Chinese front buyer in 2019. Following its sale, it changed its name twice. The vessel also registered under three different flags in less than six months. It was utilized for exporting sanctioned coal through ship-to-ship transfers and manipulated its AIS transmissions. The RUSI has identified fewer than 600 distinct vessels in the shadow fleet over more than a decade of reporting. Fraudulent maritime registries operate without legal authorization from the governments they claim to represent.
No independent assessment of North Korea’s claims was available.