US seizes tanker used to evade North Korea sanctions | Al Jazeera

The United States has seized a Singapore-owned oil tanker that was used to make oil deliveries to North Korea in violation of international sanctions, the Justice Department said.

A New York federal judge issued a judgement of forfeiture authorising the US to take ownership of the M/T Courageous, which is currently in Cambodia.

The ship, which has a capacity of 2,734-tonne, was bought by Singaporean national Kwek Kee Seng, who remains at large, according to a Justice Department statement on Friday.

The statement said the ship was reportedly used to transfer oil products to North Korean vessels and to make direct shipments to the North Korean port of Nampo.

“Criminal charges of conspiracy to evade economic sanctions on the DPRK and money laundering conspiracy are pending against the alleged owner and operator of the Courageous, Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean national who remains at large,” it said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.