CHONG CHONGANG

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Chinpo Shipping fined US$125,698 in Singapore over arms shipment

SINGAPORE-based Chinpo Shipping Company (Private) Ltd has been fined S$180,000 (US$125,698) by the Singapore District Court for violating United Nations sanctions by helping to arrange a shipment to North Korea of Cuban missile parts and two MiG-21 jet fighters hidden under thousands of tons of sugar. The shipment was seized in Panama in 2013. The court had found Chinpo guilty in December of transferring financial assets or resources that could have been used to contribute to North Korea's nuclear and missile weapon programmes. It also found Chinpo guilty of carrying out a remittance business without a license between 2009 and 2013, reported Reuters. A March 2014 UN report said Chinpo Shipping acted as the agent for a Pyongyang-based company that operated the vessel, and North Korean diplomatic personnel in Cuba arranged the shipping of the concealed cargo.

Singaporean Shipping Company Guilty of Aiding Arms Smuggling

On Monday, a court found Singapore-based Chinpo Shipping guilty of assisting a prohibited shipment of arms to North Korea. In 2013, Chinpo transferred financial assets worth $72,000 to shipping agent C.B. Fenton of Panama for the transit of the vessel Chong Chon Gang through the Panama Canal, according to the court. The United Nations has weapons transfer sanctions in effect against North Korea for its nuclear-related activities, and the Chong Chon Gang was carrying considerable quantities of Soviet-made armaments at the time of its arrest in Panama. Authorities there found that the vessel had six trailers filled with surface-to-air missile systems, 15 aircraft engines, 25 containers filled with disassembled aircraft components from two MiG-21 fighters, and assorted ammunition. The military cargo was hidden beneath a load of sugar. The court described the seizure of these assets as the largest since the beginning of sanctions in 2006. http://maritime-executive.com/article/singaporean-shipping-company-guilty-of-aiding-arms-smuggling

Master and 1st mate jailed for 12 years

Two North Korean crew members of the "Chong Chongang" have been jailed in Panama for 12 years for attempting to smuggle Cuban weapons through the Panama Canal. Captain Ri Yong-Il and the the first mate Hong Yong-Hyon were working on the vessel when it was stopped and searched in July 2013. They were convicted of arms trafficking, after the ship was found to be carrying Cuban weapons including surface-to-air missile systems and launchers, such as two Soviet-era MiG-21 aircraft, air defence systems, missiles and command and control vehicles. The unregistered cargo on board the Chong Chon Gang, was hidden under 200,000 bags of sugar and had been destined for North Korea, in violation of strict sanctions. The convictions of both seafarers came as something of a surprise, since a lower court had let the seamen off, after their ship was found to violate the law.Cuban officials had argued that the weapons were obsolete arms, sent from Cuba to Pyongyang for repair. However, the finding raised concerns about Cuba’s military cooperation with North Korea. Earlier the rest of the crew of more than 30 seamen were acquitted by the court.