North Korean cargo ship
Chong Chon Gang
|
History
|
Name
| 1977-2014
Chong Chon Gang
2014-present
Tong Hung San
|
Namesake
| Ch'ongch'on River
|
Owner
| Chongchongang Shipping (2013)
|
Operator
| Chongchongang Shipping (2013)
|
Port of registry
| Nampo,
North Korea
|
Builder
| Nampo
Shipyard
|
In service
| 1977
|
Identification
| IMO number
:
7937317
|
General characteristics
|
Type
| General cargo ship
|
Tonnage
| 9,147
GT
|
Length
| 155 m (509 ft)
|
Beam
| 20 m (66 ft)
|
Draft
| 8.9 m (29 ft)
|
Crew
| 35
|
Chong Chon Gang
(
Korean
:
淸川江號
;
Hanja
:
淸
川
江
號
[1]
) is a
North Korean
cargo ship, later renamed the
Tong Hung San
.
The 155 m (509 ft)
general cargo ship
was built in 1977
[2]
in
Nampo
. Its owner is listed as Chongchongang Shipping of
Pyongyang
.
[3]
Chongchongang Shipping may be a front company answering to
"Office #39"
(otherwise known as the Central Committee Bureau 39) of the
Workers' Party of Korea
(WPK), which is responsible for state-sanctioned illicit activities such as the smuggling of
prohibited items
including weapons and luxury goods. Office #39 was created in 1974 as a department-level organization within the WPK Secretariat under the WPK Central Committee. According to a study published by the US
Strategic Studies Institute
, its primary role was and still is engaging in illegal activities in order to generate hard currency for the North Korean government.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
On 11 March 2009,
Chong Chon Gang
was chased by
Somali pirates
in the
Arabian Sea
. Pirates shot bullets and an
RPG
from a speedboat, which damaged the ship and injured two crew members.
[5]
[6]
After the attack, the ship caught the attention of maritime officials when it made a stop at the
Russian naval facility in Tartus
,
Syria
. It's unknown why it was there.
Detentions
[
edit
]
On 26 February 2003,
Iran
detained
Chong Chon Gang
at
Bandar Imam Khomeini
.
[5]
In February 2010,
Ukrainian
authorities detained the ship at Oktyabrsk Port,
Mykolaiv
. It was carrying a heroin substitute, alcohol, cigarettes, and
AK-47
ammunition.
[7]
In March 2010,
Egypt
charged that the vessel was carrying "dangerous goods".
From April 12, 2013, to July 11 the
Chong Chon Gang
sent irregular signals to the
Automatic Identification System
. This and "unspecified" intelligence prompted Panamanian officials to seize the ship on 15 July at
Manzanillo International Terminal
.
[8]
[9]
Reportedly, when Panamanian troops approached the ship, its crew responded violently and the captain later attempted to kill himself.
[10]
A reported
missile
was found buried in a cargo of 250,000 bags of
brown sugar
, resulting in the vessel's seizure. It was reportedly on its way from
Cuba
to
North Korea
. As of July 2013, only two of the several cargo compartments had been inspected. North Korea has yet to comment, while Cuba stated that the "obsolete weapons" on the ship were going to North Korea for repair. These weapons included two anti-aircraft missile batteries, nine air defense missiles in parts, two
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
fighter planes, and 15 engines for them.
[9]
[11]
All the weapons aboard were originally manufactured in the
Soviet Union
and dated to the mid-20th century.
[12]
The
Red Cross
stated that "[the crew members] are OK. They are all calm,".
[13]
Panama expelled most of the ship's 35-man crew to Cuba and other countries on 30 January 2014. The captain and two other officers were kept in Panama to face charges of arms smuggling.
[14]
The North Korean government paid a fine of US$700,000 for the release of the vessel.
[15]
Subsequent developments
[
edit
]
In October 2014 the
Chong Chon Gang
was transferred to another North Korean owner, Tonghunsan Shipping Company, and renamed
Tong Hun San
.
[16]
[17]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"パナマ大統領「北朝鮮の船舶からミサイル部品押?」"
[
"
Missile parts seized from ships of North Korea" Panama President].
Joong-Ang Il-bo
(in Japanese). 17 July 2013.
- ^
"Chong Chon Gang: North Korean-flagship with missile"
.
Convenient Flags
. 16 July 2013.
- ^
"Chong Chon Gang"
.
Maritime Connector
. Archived from
the original
on 19 July 2013
. Retrieved
16 July
2013
.
- ^
Kan, Paul Rexton; Bechtol, Bruce E. Jr.; Collins, Robert M. (March 2010).
"Criminal Sovereignty: Understanding North Korea's Illicit International Activities"
(PDF)
.
Strategic Studies Institute
. U.S. Army War College.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on September 23, 2013.
- ^
a
b
Dorell, Oren (18 July 2013).
"North Korea ship held in Panama has a colorful past"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
21 September
2013
.
- ^
Marete, Gitonga (18 March 2009).
"Crew member shot as pirates attack vessel"
. Mombasa.
Sunday Nation
. Retrieved
21 September
2013
.
- ^
Вся правда :: Ким Чен Ир будет недоволен: в Украине арестовали судно КНДР
[Kim Jong-il will be dissatisfied in Ukraine DPRK ship arrested].
Vsya-Pravda
(in Russian). 2 February 2010
. Retrieved
21 September
2013
.
- ^
"North Korea ship held in Panama has a colorful past"
. USA Today. July 18, 2013
. Retrieved
July 18,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
Castillo, Mariano; Shoichet, Catherine E.; Oppmann, Patrick (17 July 2013).
"Cuba: 'Obsolete' weapons on ship were going to North Korea for repair"
.
CNN
.
- ^
Johnston, Ian; Bruton, F. Brinley (16 July 2013).
"North Korean ship carrying hidden 'missile equipment' detained after leaving Cuba"
.
NBC News
.
- ^
"North Korean ship with 'military cargo' held by Panama"
. Asia.
BBC News
. 16 July 2013.
- ^
Kriel, Lomi (21 July 2013).
"Panama finds MiG fighter jets on North Korean arms ship"
.
Yahoo! News
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
21 September
2013
.
- ^
"Red Cross says crew of seized North Korean ship well"
. July 24, 2013
. Retrieved
July 24,
2013
.
- ^
Pascual, Castalia (30 January 2014).
"Panama releases majority of crew on North Korean ship"
. CNN
. Retrieved
31 January
2014
.
- ^
Byrne, Leo (17 January 2014).
"North Koreans ready to pay for arms smuggling ship and crew: North Korean Foreign Ministry agrees to pay $700,000 fine"
.
NK News
. Retrieved
17 February
2014
.
- ^
"Report of the Panel of Experts established pursuant to resolution 1874 (2009)"
. United Nations Security Council. 23 February 2015. p. 47
. Retrieved
25 December
2015
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Byrne, Leo (10 December 2015).
"OFAC's new sanctions on N. Korean shipping"
.
NK News
. Retrieved
25 December
2015
.
External links
[
edit
]