U.S. seizes North Korean coal ship, accuses Pyongyang of violating sanctions

[BeyondGeography]

Source: Washington Post

U.S. authorities have seized a North Korean ship used to sell coal in alleged violation of international sanctions, Justice Department officials said Thursday.

Justice Department officials confirmed the ship, the “Wise Honest,” is approaching U.S. territorial waters, with coordination of the U.S. Marshals and the Coast Guard.

Officials said it was the first time the U.S. has seized a North Korean cargo vessel for violating international sanctions.

“This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers said in announcing the seizure.

...The move marks an escalation of U.S. government pressure on Pyongyang, even as President Trump has spoken glowingly about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-seizes-north-korean-coal-ship-accuses-pyongyang-of-violating-sanctions/2019/05/09/8fc50d86-726e-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html?utm_term=.8a77d27f3e8c

[brooklynite]

1. What's a little seizure among friends?

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Oops! Looks like a failed LOVE AFFAIR with Kim.....

Any comment from Orange puke?

[underpants]

3. So THIS is how he's going to bring coal back

Literally go and get it

[we can do it]

22. You win!

[Ramsey Barner]

4. So we seized the ship in international waters.

The ship "is approaching U.S. territorial waters."

Anybody know any maritime law?

[Ramsey Barner]

6. Short answer: yes, we can seize the ship

Long answer:

The Right of Visit, Search and Seizure of Foreign Flagged Vessels on the High Seas Pursuant to Customary International Law

http://tinyurl.com/y2omn3ep

[Chakaconcarne]

5. Someone else is asking for the unredacted Mueller report.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Kim Jong Un has a fleet of ghost ships sneaking around the high seas to beat sanctions

Kim Jong Un has a fleet of ghost ships sneaking around the high seas to beat sanctions

David Fahrenthold Retweeted

North Korea conducts its illicit trading w/fleet o/ghost ships that paint false names on their hulls, steal identification numbers from other vessels & execute trades via ship-2-ship transfers at sea, 2 avoid prying eyes at ports. By ⁦@JeanneWhalen⁩

Link to tweet

Business
Kim Jong Un has a fleet of ghost ships sneaking around the high seas to beat sanctions

By Jeanne Whalen, Reporter covering business around the world
April 24 at 7:09 PM

In April 2018, a ship carrying $3 million worth of coal slipped into Indonesian waters with its identification transmitter switched off and its flag hidden from view. ... Acting on a tip, Indonesia's navy detained the vessel, which identified itself as the "Wise Honest" from Sierra Leone. When inspectors went aboard, they found two dozen crew members and registration documents indicating a different country of origin -- North Korea. ... The interdiction, detailed in a March 5 report by U.N. sanctions monitors, is part of a worrying rise in coal exports from the hermit kingdom -- exports that violate U.N. sanctions and help finance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, the monitors said.
....

North Korea conducts its illicit trading with a fleet of ghost ships that paint false names on their hulls, steal identification numbers from other vessels and execute their trades via ship-to-ship transfers at sea, to avoid prying eyes at ports. ... In the case of the Wise Honest, a globe-trotting North Korean salesman arranged the shipment by holding meetings at Pyongyang's embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia -- and then paid an Indonesian broker through bank transfers facilitated by JPMorgan Chase, according to bank documents and other evidence gathered by the monitors.
....

Some ships carry on trading even after the Security Council places sanctions on them. In March 2018, the United Nations placed sanctions on a vessel registered in Dominica called the Yuk Tung, along with the Singaporean company that managed it, after the vessel traded with a North Korean ship. That punishment banned the Yuk Tung from all ports worldwide and effectively prohibited other ships from trading with it.

To keep operating in the East China Sea, the Yuk Tung painted a new name and a stolen identification number on its stern and falsely transmitted the stolen number. Meanwhile, the rightful owner of that ID was anchored in the Gulf of Guinea, more than 7,000 miles away, according to the monitors.
....

Jeanne Whalen is a reporter covering business around the world. She previously reported for the Wall Street Journal from New York, London and Moscow. Follow https://twitter.com/JeanneWhalen

[CentralMass]

8. ...

In this photo trump contemplates Kim Jong Un's command to grab his ankles.

[Bonhomme Richard]

9. I am beginning to think that trump and his...

minions are throwing challenges at potential enemies hoping that someone on the other side makes a mistake and he can get his wag the tail war going.
NK now and Iran and China a few days ago.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Feels that way

[Javaman]

17. spot on. my first thought as well...

the orange asshole trying the scatter gun approach. piss off everyone and see who shoots first.

[Old Vet]

28. Yup, he desperately wants to be a war president.

[appal_jack]

27. The list grows by the day...

Venezuela
North Korea
Iran
China

Who next?

k&r,

-app

[lagomorph777]

11. That ship was headed someplace. Why not tail it and blockade the destination port?

That's how you enforce sanctions.

[EX500rider]

13. So if it was going to a Russian port? Or empty and headed home? nt

[lagomorph777]

21. Russia should be blockaded until they quit installing Russiapublicans here.

[EX500rider]

24. Blockading is a act of war and Russia has many nuclear warheads with our address on them. nt

[lagomorph777]

25. Sorry - I forgot to include:

[keithbvadu2]

12. Dotard Donald says that Rocketman Kim is "very honorable". Are you still in love with him, Donald?

[irisblue]

14. Well, no way this could be a problem.

[soryang]

15. Second Minuteman III launch within a month

"Separately Thursday, U.S. military officials conducted a scheduled launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from an Air Force facility in California. It was the second test of the U.S. Minuteman III missile this month, and the third this year, though the Air Force maintains that such activity is scheduled years in advance, and not in response to any world events."

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

16. But it was beautiful clean coal

[James48]

18. Seizing a foreign flag ship on the high seas

is an act of war under international law.

Was this seizure authorized by the UN Security Council ?

I thought Trumpers all refused to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the UN.

Are our sailors (Is it Coast Guard) now in danger of being in violation of international law? DId they do it at the orders of Trump? Does that make Trump officially a war criminal?

[former9thward]

19. It is not an "act of war"

The UN has sanctions against NK. The ship was in violation. UN member nations can enforce UN sanctions.

[James48]

23. Trumpers don't believe in the UN

Their heads will explode if you tell them that.

[soryang]

20. So the seizure was on April 2 apparently

News Of Sanction Busting North Korean Cargo Ship Seized As Kim Fires More Missiles
The seizure of the ship is unprecedented and both events together underscore a major uptick in tensions between the United States and North Korea.
BY JOSEPH TREVITHICKMAY 9, 2019

American authorities had taken control of the M/V Wise Honest, one of North Korea's largest bulk cargo ships, on or about Apr. 2, 2019, but had not previously disclosed it had done so. There is no indication that North Korea had publicly acknowledged the seizure, either, but it is not hard to see how it could have contributed to Kim's already increasingly belligerent posture as of late. The formal announcement seems almost certain to prompt at least fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang.

Has anyone found the location of the seizure?

[Judi Lynn]

26. N. Korean cargo ship seized by US arrives in American Samoa

By FILI SAGAPOLUTELE
an hour ago

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — A North Korean cargo ship seized by the U.S. because of suspicion it was used to violate international sanctions arrived at the capital of this American territory, where it will undergo inspections.

The Wise Honest was slowly towed to the port of Pago Pago during a cloudy Saturday morning and docked at the main docking section of the port that afternoon.

The trip from Indonesia took about three weeks and American Samoa, in the South Pacific, was chosen because of “its central strategic location,” U.S. Coast Guard public affairs officer Amanda Wyrick said.

“We also have a good strong relationship and partnership with the American Samoan government,” Wyrick said. “With that being said, we also already have the resources that are able to ensure the security of the vessel but most importantly the Port of Pago Pago.”



More:
https://apnews.com/04b6e91f993f43afb48ac1634b593830