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Tanker owner sues authorities to hamper retrieval of detained ship

The owner of the "Lighthouse Winmore" which was being detained by South Korea for about eight months for allegedly transferring oil to the North was suing city authorities for not helping retrieve the vessel. The ship is owned by Win More Shipping, incorporated in Hong Kong. On Aug 1, 2018, the company’s director submitted documents charging that the Hong Kong Marine Department’s failure to demand the return of the vessel was illegal. The department had also failed to write to the United Nations to ask for the ship’s release, even though Win More had explained its innocence. Hong Kong authorities were planning to cancel the ship’s registration by Aug 22, which would leave the tanker detained in South Korea “indefinitely”. The tanker has been detained in waters off the southern coast of Yeosu since Nov 24 , 2017, after it was caught allegedly “carrying out ship-to-ship operations” with a North Korean vessel, the "Sam Jong 2", breaking UN Security Council sanctions against the hermit state. In the court documents filed by their solicitor, Brenda Chark & Co, the Hong Kong firm revealed that the Marine Department intended to deregister the tanker because certifications required to maintain its registration had been withdrawn by an international vessel-classifying body. The company argued, however, that the body, Bureau Veritas, was only cutting links because it feared the allegations against Win More would hurt its reputation and business. In the documents, the firm said South Korean authorities were willing to release the ship “if the [UN] committee decides, on a case-by-case basis and upon the request of the flag state [Hong Kong], that adequate arrangements have been made to prevent the vessel contributing to future violations. If the director proceeds to close the registration of the tanker on Aug 22 without making a request to the committee, the tanker, with the crew on board, will be left with being detained in South Korea indefinitely. Since the tanker was detained, its suppliers in South Korea had refused to send food for the 25 crew members on board, 23 of whom are Chinese. The remaining two are from Myanmar. No maintenance has been carried out on the tanker as it can only be done at a dock. The company claimed this meant the vessel risked catching fire or capsizing at any moment, which would result in pollution for which the Hong Kong government would have to foot the bill because insurance firms had also abandoned the ship. Win More is owned by Gong Ruiqiang, according to the writ. In July 2017 the firm was contacted by a Joey Bay from the Singapore branch of shipbroker Brazilship/Scanbrasil Comercio Maritimo. A Taiwanese firm called Oceanic Enterprise was keen to charter the tanker. Win More accepted the offer on July 19 on the condition that the tanker be deployed in the 12 months after August 2017 for fuel deliveries in the waters between Taiwan and Korea. But Win More insisted it was never told the Taiwanese firm was dealing with North Korea.

Tanker seized for transfer of oil to North Korean vessel

The South Korean authorities have seized the "Lighthouse Winmoore" on Dec 29, 2017, off Yeosou after it was found to have secretly transferred 600 tons of refined petroleum to a North Korean vessel in international waters in October 2017. Acting on intelligence provided by the US, South Korean customs officials boarded the vessel when it entered Yeosu Port. The investigation has so far determined that the ship was chartered by a Taiwanese company, Billions Bunker Group, and had initially docked in Yeosu Port on October 11 to take on a cargo of Japanese refined petroleum before going on to its final declared destination of Taiwan four days later. After leaving port, however, the ship met up with the "Sam Jong 2", a 2,507-ton North Korean tanker, and three other unnamed ships in international waters in the East China Sea. Reports with photos: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/29/seoul-seizes-hong-kong-registered-tanker-used-secretly-sell/ https://guardian.ng/news/south-korea-seizes-hong-kong-ship-for-oil-transfer-to-north-korea/