Chong Chon Gang

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Chong Chon Gang
The Chong Chon Gang in the foreground in their home port of Namp'o in October 2014
The Chong Chon Gang in the foreground in their home port of Namp'o in October 2014
Ship data
flag Korea NorthNorth Korea North Korea
other ship names

Tong Hung San (since 2014)

Ship type Cargo ship
Callsign HMZF
home port Namp'o
Owner Chongchonggang Shipping Company, Pyongyang
Shipyard Namp'o
Launch 1977
Ship dimensions and crew
length
155.00 m ( Lüa )
width 20.60 m
Draft Max. 8.40 m
measurement 9147 GT
Machine system
Service
speed 		12.5 kn (23 km / h)
Transport capacities
Load capacity 13,990 dwt
Others
Classifications Korea Classification Society
Registration
numbers 		IMO no. 7937317
Korean spelling
Korean alphabet : 청천 강호
Hanja : 清川江 號
Revised Romanization : Cheongcheon-gang-ho
McCune-Reischauer : Ch'ŏngch'ŏn'gang-ho

The Chong Chon Gang is a cargo ship from North Korea .

history

The 155 m long ship was built by the Nampo Shipyard in Namp'o and completed in July 1977. Initially, the ship was registered directly with the North Korean government, in 1996 it was transferred to the Sohae Sonbak Company.

In 2009, Chongchongang Shipping Company took over Chong Chon Gang . In the same year the ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia . In 2010 the ship was detained in Ukraine . Among other things, prohibited narcotics were found on board.

On July 15, 2013, the Chong Chon Gang was arrested by the Panamanian authorities. The ship was en route from Cuba through the Panama Canal to North Korea. The ship was stopped due to an indication of drug smuggling. The ship's crew tried to prevent the ship from being searched. During the search, various weapons of Soviet origin were found under the loaded sugar . These included anti-aircraft systems and two MiG-21bis fighter aircraft, as well as 15 engines for the same type and nine anti-aircraft missiles for the S-125 Neva / Pechora system . Due to the ongoing Korean conflict and in particular the North Korean nuclear weapons program , North Korea is subject to an arms embargo . According to the Cuban government, the weapons in North Korea should only be repaired and then go back to Cuba.

Following the discovery of weapons, the 35 North Korean crew members were arrested. 32 of them were released from pretrial detention in January 2014, only against the captain, the first officer of the ship and the accompanying political officer, proceedings were initiated that ended in June 2014 with acquittal. The court assessed the defendants as mere orders from the North Korean government, who could not be assigned personal responsibility for the arms smuggling. On February 16, 2014, the ship left the port of Colón , heading for Cuba , after North Korea had previously paid the Panamanian authorities the fine of around 480,000 euros. The armaments remained under the control of Panama and were officially confiscated after a court decision in June 2014 after the ownership could not be established due to the lack of an official declaration from the Cuban government to the Panamanian authorities. At that time, North Korea was still looking for a buyer for the 200,000 sacks of sugar that were still stored in Panama.

In October 2014, the ship was transferred to the Tonghungsan Shipping Company and renamed Tong Hung San .

description

The ship has five holds that are closed with folding hatch covers. Four of the holds are located in front of the deckhouse in the rear third of the ship , the fifth hold is behind it. The ship is equipped with four ship cranes , which are located between hatches 1, 2 and 3 and behind hatch 5.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Chong Chon Gang: North Korean-flag ship with missile. Flags of Convenience, July 16, 2013, accessed July 18, 2013 .
  2. ↑ a b Miramar Ship Index
  3. ↑ Kwanwoo Jun: North Korean Ship Has Been in Trouble Before. The Wall Street Journal Asia, July 17, 2013, accessed July 18, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Demand to Panama: North Korea demands arms carriers back. Der Spiegel , accessed on July 18, 2013 .
  5. ↑ Arms freighter "Chong Chon Gang": Panama releases North Korean seamen, in: Spiegel Online from January 31, 2014, accessed on July 15, 2014
  6. ↑ a b Marinos norcoreanos viajan a su país tras ser absueltos en Panamá, in: Diario de Cuba of July 14, 2014 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ Cuba Next Stop for North Korean Ship Released in Panama, in: Havana Times of February 15, 2014, accessed on July 15, 2014 (English)
  8. ↑ Fine in Panama: North Korea triggers its arms freighter, in: Spiegel Online from December 11, 2013, accessed on July 15, 2014.

Web links