Three Chinese-flagged fuel tankers with invalid Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers were observed outside the North Korean port of Nampho in April, analysis by NK Pro showed.

The 8835 and the Yu Fu, both displaying the unregistered MMSI number “412345678,” last broadcast their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals in the Yellow Sea on April 20 and 22 respectively.

A third tanker, the Kang Fa, whose current voyage tracks it closest to Nampo before it disappeared from AIS on April 15, was also broadcasting an MMSI not found in the International Maritime Organization’s databases.

The tankers’ behavior