Malaysia seized a Vietnamese oil tanker, which Reuters reported visited North Korea in February. The vessel was found adrift off the Malaysian coast, according to maritime agency. Under sanctions imposed by the UN, North Korea has heavy restrictions in its imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
As Reuters reports, citing shipping data from Refinitiv, the Viet Tin 01 had arrived just outside the harbor of Nampo on North Korea’s western coast on February 25 carrying 2,000 tonnes of gasoline. However, it is not clear if the tanker unloaded cargo at Nampo.
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Now, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), a team of officers boarded the tanker on December 15, after discovering that the ship had anchored without authorization, off Johor.
Before boarding the vessel, the agency had attempted to contact the ship through radio and speakers, receiving no response whatsoever. As a result, the vessel was suspected to have been abandoned.
Nevertheless, the agency found one person on board, who claimed that the vessel had drifted from its original position. The crew member detained for further investigations.
Since last February, the tanker has parked near China’s coastline, initially at the Port of Shidao and then Shanghai, before stopping to transmit location data from its AIS between March 20 and July 9. The last time the ship transmitted AIS location data was on August 21.
After July 9, the tanker briefly stopped in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port, and then headed toward waters in southeast Malaysia, arriving on July 20. It remained there until at least August 21.
