We tracked a ship in North Korea’s shadow fleet. This is how it stays in the dark
- Written by: Weekend Times
It’s the middle of the night in April 2023 in the East China Sea.
A North Korean-linked oil tanker, sailing under different country’s flag, suddenly goes dark.
It stops transmitting
its location using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) machine that all larger commercial ships have on board. To the casual observer looking at a computer screen, it ceases to exist.
This is just one of hundreds of ships in the North Korean shadow fleet that keeps the pariah state’s economy afloat in the face of international sanctions.
This is the story of one ship in North Korea’s fleet, the New Konk.
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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
