A joint advisory issued Thursday by the U.S. government notified the maritime industry of new standards to avoid sanctions penalties, identifying several “deceptive shipping practices” used by North Korea and other sanctioned states.

The Global Maritime Advisory — issued by the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the U.S. Coast Guard — proposed new, but non-legally binding, best practices for the maritime industry and partners.

It also provided information on relevant country-specific sanctions, of which North Korea was the most comprehensive.

The announcement, delayed for over two months due to the coronavirus outbreak, followed