A North Korean cargo ship carrying coal en route from the Yellow Sea to the East Sea reportedly sank in Chinese waters on the 17th. Because the sinking site is far from the usual route, some observers say it may have gone down while attempting an illegal ship-to-ship transfer of coal.
On this day, Voice of America (VOA) reported that on Dec. 14 last year in the afternoon, the North Korean cargo ship "Unseon No. 7," which had been anchored due to worsening weather, sank 13 nautical miles (about 24 kilometers) east of Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China.
The report was based on International Maritime Organization (IMO) marine casualty records. According to the IMO records, Unseon No. 7 sank after being rammed by a Chinese fishing vessel that was operating in the area. The crew members were rescued by the Chinese fishing vessel and there were no casualties.
Unseon No. 7 had notified the IMO that it would travel from Nampo in the Yellow Sea to Chongjin in the East Sea, but the incident occurred in waters off Zhoushan, China. The straight-line distance from Nampo is 1,014 kilometers, and it is also more than 500 kilometers in a straight line from Jeju.
The area has been cited by experts from the United Nations Security Council's now-defunct Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions as a hotspot for illegal ship-to-ship coal transfers by North Korean vessels and sanction-evasion activities.
For that reason, some point out that the North may have had an accident while attempting a ship-to-ship coal transaction in Chinese waters. There are also claims that Chongjin, the stated destination, may have been a false report to avoid international suspicion.
Neil Watts, a former member of the United Nations Security Council Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions, told VOA, "The Ningbo–Zhoushan waters are well known as a place where ship-to-ship transfers moving North Korean coal take place."