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After China, Russia Turns Supplied Oil Supply to North Korea
Berlianto
Saturday 30 December 2017 - 10:42 hrs
After China, Russia Turns Supplied Oil Supply to North Korea
Russia reportedly supplied oil to the North by transferring ships to ships in the middle of the sea. Photo / Illustration
LONDON - Russian tanker has reportedly supplied talent to North Korea at least three times in recent months by transferring cargo at sea. The supply of oil gives the economic life path to a communist country full of secrets.
Similarly, reports of two western European senior security sources. The security source said the sale of oil or oil products from Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter and a member of the UN Security Council holding veto, violated UN sanctions.
Cargo transfers that occurred in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to load cargo at sea. Two Russian-flagged tankers travel between mid-October and November, departing from Slavyanka and Nakhodka ports to the high seas where they turn off their transponders, delivery data show.
"Russian ships transfer petrochemical crate from ship to ship to North Korea on several occasions this year as a violation of sanctions," said the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, as quoted by Reuters on Saturday. 
The second source, which independently confirmed the existence of Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the last transfer.
"There is no evidence that this is supported by the Russian state but these Russian ships provide a lifeline to North Koreans," said a second security source in Europe.
The two security sources cited intelligence and marine satellite data from ships operating outside the Russian Far East port of the Pacific. Even so, they refused to reveal further details by saying that the ship was kept secret.
Russia's Foreign Ministry and the Russian Customs Service declined to comment when asked whether Russian ships were supplying fuel to North Korean ships. The owner of a ship accused of smuggling oil into North Korea denied the activity.
North Korea relies on imported fuel to struggle to maintain its economic function. The country also needs oil for intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear programs that the United States says threaten peace in Asia.
"The ships smuggled Russian fuel from the Russian Far East port to North Korea," said the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Security sources said the Russian-flagged tanker, Vityaz, was one of the ships that had transferred fuel to North Korean ships.
According to Russian port control documents, Vityaz left the port of Slavyanka near Vladivostok in Russia on October 15 with 1,600 tons of oil.
Documents sent by the ship's agent to the Russian State Port Authority authority indicate its purpose as a fishing fleet in the Sea of Japan. The shipment data shows the vessel turning off its transponder for several days while sailing into the open water.