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Detained North Korean ship has left the Philippines — Coast Guard

 


The Philippines has released a North Korean freighter it seized nearly a month ago under tough new UN sanctions, after no contraband was found onboard and the ship was cleared by the United Nations, officials said on Friday.

The North Korean freighter M/V Jin Teng has left the country at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Coast Guard spokesman Commander Armand Balilio told GMA News Online on Friday.

No team from the United Nations came to inspect the ship but local authorities did not find any contraband on board except some broken aids to navigation equipment, the coast guard said.

The Jin Teng, flying a Sierra Leone flag, arrived in the port of Subic on Feb. 27 and was unloading palm kernels when it was seized.

The Jin Teng has called at Palembang, Indonesia, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, since the beginning of this year, ship tracking data available on the Reuters Eikon Terminal showed.

Jin Teng's release from port followed its removal from the United Nations Security Council's list of vessels for inspection in accordance with Resolution 2270.

Resolution 2270 is the UNSC's condemnation of North Korea's recent nuclear test and imposes "new cargo inspection and maritime procedures to limit the DPRK's ability to transfer UN-prohibited items."

[Read: Former senator Rene Saguisag's commentary on the issue]

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose reaffirmed his response Thursday and stated that the vessel was held for compliance with Resolution 2270.

"MV Jin Teng was in Subic Bay unloading its cargo from Indonesia when the UNSC issued Resolution 2270 calling for its freeze," he said.

"But when UNSC delisted the vessel from the resolution, there was no more basis to continue holding the vessel so it was released," Jose said.

Tough new U.N. sanctions, passed in March to punish North Korea after its fourth nuclear test in January, blacklisted 31 ships owned by North Korean shipping firm Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM).

The sanctions aim to starve North Korea of money for its nuclear weapons program.

But the UN Security Council agreed earlier this week to China's request to remove sanctions on four ships blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang's arms trade. China said the ships were not OMM ships and secured a commitment that the ships would no longer use North Korean crews.

The four ships included the Jin Teng, detained by the Philippines days after the sanctions took effect.  with Reuters  — APG, GMA News

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