Two UN sanctioned ships are currently within Chinese territorial waters, while two more sailed internationally this week, indicating that North Korea’s sanctions evasion mechanisms continue ticking in the face of international restrictions and the vessels’ own designations.

The blacklisted vessels within China’s waters are both prohibited from entry into ports other than North Korea’s, yet seem to be loitering or moving around the country’s coast without issue.

One is an oil tanker called the Shang Yuan Bao, which was involved in smuggling oil to North Korea via prohibited ship-to-ship transfers.[/p