North Korea is suspected of illegal activity at sea after its huge merchant ship disappeared from the radars five years ago after “sailing in the dark” – until last week.
A North Korean ship was mysteriously discovered after it ‘disappeared’ from the ocean five years ago. The giant 3,800-tonne ghost ship, the Dae Bong 1, was seen in radar again for the first time since July 2017, suggesting it was back from a “mysterious voyage”. Auto-identification (AIS) 24/7, something the Di Bong 1 ship ignored when it disappeared without a trace.
James Byrne, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Institute that monitors the North Korean navy, told South Korean media that the ship was apparently sailing under a fake profile. He said: “It is very likely that the ship sailed as usual but simply without transmitting its registered identity.”
This action allows the Chinese authorities to maintain the fiction that ships engaged in illegal activities do not control their waters, while also making it difficult to track these ships. “AIS data is commonly used by international authorities to track North Korean ships’ whereabouts, Maybe acted against him.
However, shutting down a ship’s surveillance transmitter for five years is extreme even for Kim Jong Un’s fleet. North Korea got its hands on the ship between 2010-2011, meaning it spent almost half of its time with North Korea in radio silence, according to the Aquasis Maritime Database.
U.S. government agencies refer to such long voyages sailing in the dark as “red flags,” indicating illegal activity.