Decison comes after Moscow's protest
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea released a Russian-flagged ship, Tuesday, after detaining it in Busan on suspicion of violating the U.N. Security Council (USNC) sanctions on North Korea, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wednesday.
Citing Busan port authorities, the ministry said the Sevastopol, a cargo ship operated by Russia-based Gudzon Shipping, was cleared of allegations that it was involved in illegal trading with North Korea and therefore was free to leave. The ship and its 14 crew members had been seized on Sept. 28.
"Whether the ship violated UNSC sanctions was not found when our side searched and inspected it. And we lifted deferral of the ship's departure as of Oct. 2," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
On Aug. 21, the U.S. Department of Treasury blacklisted Gudzon, as well as Russian shipping company Primorye Maritime Logistics and six Russian vessels including the Sevastopol for allegedly breaching UNSC sanctions and being involved in ship-to-ship crude oil trade with North Korea.
The ministry official said South Korea "worked closely" with the U.S. and Russia over the Sevastopol case.
"The ship is targeted by the U.S. and we want to ensure it does not violate the relevant sanctions," the official said.
He stressed the Sevastopol and its crew were never arrested, seized or detained but were prevented from leaving.
"We deferred the Sevastopol's departure in accordance with our routine inspection related to the international sanctions on Pyongyang. This is different from the measures taken against the ships that are found in breach of such sanctions," he said.
However, speculation remains whether South Korea yielded to Russia after the latter lodged a strong protest.
The ship was initially scheduled to leave South Korea on Sept. 27 after docking at the port of Busan on Aug. 14 for maintenance.
The Russian foreign ministry summoned South Korean Ambassador to Russia Woo Yoon-keun, Oct. 1, in protest of the ship's "illegal seizure," demanding Seoul "immediately" allow the ship to leave.
The Russian ministry also canceled its plans to send Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov to a reception hosted by Woo in Moscow, Oct. 1, to mark National Foundation Day. It instead sent a lower-level official.
"Sending a lower-level official should be seen as sign of protest for detaining the Sevastopol," a diplomatic source said.
The UNSC sanctions adopted in September 2017 ban ship-to-ship trade with North Korea at sea.
The UNSC allows member states to seize, inspect and freeze vessels suspected of transferring coal or banned goods to or from Kim Jong-un's regime.
