In compliance with international requirements and the very best practices available, St. Kitts and Nevis has been operating its International Ship Registry since 2005. In this context, before any ship or vessel is registered on the St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry a due diligence check is carried out. This includes among other things, checking the following:
- Office of Foreign Assets Control Website – A department of the US Treasury which enforces economic and trade sanctions
- Lloyds List Intelligence
- Port State Control Websites
In addition to these safe guards, it must be noted that the St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry also complies with the provisions as enshrined in the Merchant Shipping Act Chapter 7:05. Provided that there are no sanctions or “red flags” and all safety requirements are fulfilled, the particular vessel is registered on the St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry.
In the case of the Vessel HAO FAN 6, this vessel along with two other vessels in question were subjected to the due diligence checks as outlined above. At no time during the registration process was there any “red flags” indicating that such vessels or their registered owners were in violation of the UN sanctions against the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) or that the ship were owned or operated by DRPK interest.
Its important to note, sanctions listed are very fluid, that is, persons and the entities are added and removed from these lists on a regular basis. Therefore, vessels or owners of vessels that did not appear on sanctions lists during the registration process may at some late date become sanctioned persons or entities. The St. Kitts International Ship Registry has and continues to take the necessary measures to deregistered vessels from the registry should information be brought to our attention that the vessel or their owners have become sanctioned entities.
It must be stated emphatically that once reliable and credible information came to St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry, the vessel HAO FAN 6 was immediately de-registered on September 28th, 2017. Moreover, we are unaware that an UM sanctions have been imposed on the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
St. Kitts and Nevis is a responsible member of the international community and will not intentionally or knowingly violate sanctions that it helps to create against states that threaten global peace and security.
Nigel Smith,
International Registrar of Shipping & Seamen
St. Kitts and Nevis International Ship Registry
October 13th, 2017