It was revealed that about 10,000 tons (about 71,800 barrels) of oil that SK Energy sold to a Taiwanese shipping company last year was transferred to North Korea through illegal transshipment a few days later. SK Energy is being criticized for not suspecting North Korean illegal transshipment even though Taiwanese companies wrote the destination ‘on the open sea’ when purchasing oil.
UN sanctions committee expert panel “10,000 tons of oil sold by SK Energy went to North Korea”
On the 29th, Voice of America (VOA) reported the contents of the report, saying, “In this year’s annual report, the expert panel of the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee paid attention to the two oil transactions between SK Energy and Taiwanese ships last year.” .
According to the report, the UN Security Council’s sanctions committee on North Korea is investigating and investigating allegations that Taiwan-based ‘Youth Shipping’ violated sanctions against North Korea. The oil tanker ‘Sunward’ operated by ‘Cheongchun Shipping’ illegally transshipped oil to a North Korean ship in March and April of last year, and the offshore company Everway Global, owned by this company, purchased oil from SK Energy on a bill of lading. It has been verified through
The broadcaster disclosed the contents of the bill of lading included in the report. The item of trade between SK Energy’s Taiwan branch and Chungcheong Shipping was ‘gas oil’. The first part is 4989.252 tons in March 2021, and the second part is 4553.403 tons in April, with a total of 9542 tons (about 71,800 barrels). It is said that the ‘Sunward’ will take care of the transportation from Taichung Port, Taiwan. However, the broadcast pointed out that the final destination of this oil on the bill of lading is ‘High Sea’.
An expert panel of the North Korea Sanctions Committee said, “4989.252 tons of oil carried by the ‘Sunwad’ was transferred to the North Korean tanker ‘Sinpyeong-2’ through illegal transshipment on the high seas on March 30-31 last year, and on March 31-April 1. It was transferred to another North Korean tanker ‘Ansan-1’,” he said.
The expert panel continued, “The second oil portion was transshipped from the ‘Sunward’ to North Korea’s ‘Eunheung’ and ‘Samjong-2’ between April 6 and 7 last year. The four North Korean ships that were handed over were caught moving to Nampo, Chongjin, and Hamhung, respectively, and unloading the oil.”
Exceeded oil, one-sixth of allowable exports to North Korea… SK Energy “There is no way to confirm the destination”
Resolution 2397, adopted by the UN Security Council in December 2017, limits North Korea’s annual imports of oil to 500,000 barrels (about 62,500 tons). Countries that export petroleum products to North Korea are required to report monthly exports and means of transport to the UN Security Council. However, North Korea has evaded sanctions through illegal transshipment on the high seas. The broadcaster pointed out, “The amount of oil sold by SK Energy is equivalent to about one-sixth of the annual allowance for exports to North Korea.”
“SK Energy claimed that the buyer was involved in sanctions against North Korea without the seller being aware of it,” the broadcaster said. According to the broadcast, SK Energy said, “When selling goods, they check the final destination of the goods according to the FOB.
SK Energy continued, “We cooperated with the UN Security Council’s panel of experts on sanctions against North Korea on this matter and submitted data. he emphasized.
VOA “The US government also distributed warnings in Korean two years ago… The shipping industry is skeptical.”
However, the broadcaster pointed out that the US government has warned the shipping industry around the world several times in the past that there is a possibility of being unintentionally involved in violating sanctions against North Korea, and that the warning was also distributed in Korean.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, jointly issued by the State Department and the Coast Guard in 2019, in the “Advisory on North Korean Illegal Transshipment Act,” states, “Each cargo recipient and target must not supply petroleum products to North Korean tankers, and oil refineries are part of the supply chain. It has requested that companies make due diligence mandatory.” In May 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department also reviewed detailed information about the voyage, including ships and cargo, origin and destination, and counterparties, and advised not to become involved in violating sanctions against North Korea. The broadcaster pointed out, “This warning was translated into Korean and distributed to the shipping industry around the world.”
The broadcaster also said that the shipping industry expressed doubts about SK Energy’s explanation. It is said that although a Taiwanese shipping company purchased oil and wrote the destination as ‘on the open sea’, SK Energy did not look into the details in detail.
The broadcaster said, “In some cases, oil tankers refuel for deep-sea fishing boats on the high seas, so it is not illegal to write ‘on the high seas’ as the destination. “Isn’t it necessary to check whether the oil sold by SK Energy is the same type of fuel used for refueling ships in nearby waters?” introduced the opinion of an expert in the shipping industry.
The expert added, “(SK Energy) is a large Korean company, shouldn’t it have been more careful?”
