Nearly fifty vessels owned by or linked to North Korea have changed their flag to Tanzania since March this year in what could constitute a breach of UN sanctions, analysis of various maritime databases shows.

According to data from Marine Traffic, the Equasis maritime database, and inspection records from Port State Control (PSC) authorities, around 15 percent of ships on the NK Pro vessel tracker now sail under a Tanzanian flag, with the large majority of changes happening over a three-month period.

The numbers and time frames indicate an unprecedented campaign to reflag vessels with links