N. Korean sanction evasions reveal HK’s middle role

Busted: The ‘Wan Heng 11’ next to the North Korean-flagged ‘Rye Song Gang 1’ in the East China Sea carrying out a suspected ship-to-ship transfer. — AP

HONG KONG: In the dead of night last month, two tanker ships pulled alongside each other in the East China Sea. One was a North Korean vessel, the other was the Belize-flagged Wan Heng 11.

Lights on both ships were blazing, arousing a Japanese spy plane’s suspicion they were carrying out a “ship-to-ship” transfer banned under United Nations sanctions imposed over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.