KUALA LUMPUR (Bloomberg): A Vietnamese tanker tracked earlier this year in North Korea was seized by Malaysian authorities last week after it was found anchored without authorisation just off the coast of Johor, maritime agency officials said. "This is unusual for a vessel that has been publicly identified for engaging in North Korea sanctions evasion,” Lucas Kuo of C4ADS, who helped identify the vessel’s suspicious docking in North Korea, told NK News. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency wrote on its Facebook page that it approached the VIET TIN 01 the day before after it drifted 4.6 nautical miles south of Cape Peninsula into unauthorised waters. While the agency thought the ship had been abandoned, an inspection revealed its chief engineer on board. "The tanker with the chief engineer was detained for further investigation.”According to C4ADS, the ship appears to have been anchored in Malaysia since July.

Source: The Star December 13, 2019 09:22 UTC