Regular traffic picked up through April at North Korea’s largest container port, new satellite imagery reveals, although many vessels remain anchored as coronavirus quarantine measures continue to limit the activity of the DPRK’s commercial fleet.

Shipments at Nampho port appear to be adhering to North Korean government regulations that mandate containers be held “for 10 days isolated from one another in their natural state,” or, at the very least, a policy that prevents new shipments for over ten days.

NK Pro analysis of April imagery reveals a 20-day cycle that began in March in which shipments are received, containers are quarantined/removed over ten days, and a clear yard is established for ten days until the next shipment.

The cycle repeated over two months, signaling a new regulation.

The mass of ships previously-spotted by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) at Nampho’s West Sea Barrage also appears to have completely dissipated, and Automatic Identification System (AIS) data shows some vessels back in active service along the Dalian-Nampho water route.

20-DAY CYCLE AT CONTAINER PORT

NK Pro reported last month that Nampho began receiving container shipments in the second week of March, with some patterns of reshuffling in the yard as the containers remained in quarantine.

At that time, containers seemed to be staying for less than the 10-day quarantine policy, as “the satellite imagery shows the containers in the yard at least are not consistently being held for the entire period.”

An NK Pro analysis of March and April imagery reveals the repetition of a 20-day cycle between shipments, separated in two ten-day blocks of “full yard” and “clear yard.”

On March 15-17, a cargo vessel was seen docked at the container port. There were no containers moved into the yard during that time, suggesting the ship itself was in quarantine.

On March 17, the yard began to fill with containers, presumably from the quarantined vessel, with the “full yard” depleting until it achieved a nearly-clear state on March 27-28.

The “clear yard” remained until April 6, when a cargo vessel docked and began to fill the yard through April 7. This second “full yard” depleted through April 13.

While there is a gap in imagery between April 13 and 21, a second “clear yard” phase had started by April 21 and ended on April 26, with another vessel seen docked and a modest container shipment moved in.

March 14 – April 30 timelapse of the Nampho Port container yard | Images: Planet Labs

WEST BARRAGE EMPTIES

As observed by RUSI in March, an unprecedented number of vessels in North Korea’s active fleet was recalled home amid fears of coronavirus spread.

Many went to areas around Nampho. Some dropped anchor in Nampho Anchorage and other sites in the Taedong River, where approximately 50 have remained through April despite the re-activation of trade and other vessels.

As of May, the fleet seen anchored in the West Sea Barrage has entirely dissipated.

According to satellite imagery, most departed on March 23-24, with small groups re-appearing on April 3-4 and also on April 23 before also departing.

The “small groups” timing in the West Sea Barrage aligns slightly with the 20-day cycle seen at the container yard, but at medium-range satellite imagery it is unclear if there is a relationship between vessels.

March 17 – April 29 timelapse of the West Sea Barrage, or Nampho Dam | Images: Planet Labs

RETURN TO NAMPHO-DALIAN WATER ROUTE

AIS data shows that many DPRK-flagged vessels have resumed their regular Nampho-Dalian water routes through the last week of April.

Among these vessels are the E. Morning (IMO 8717910), the Tong Myong 9 (IMO 8748309), the K. Morning (IMO 9021576), and the Sa Hyang San (IMO 8824220), according to NK Pro’s Ship Tracker.

The ships all departed Nampho on April 23-25 and began their return journey from Dalian on dates from April 27 through May 1.

Humanitarian groups reported the re-opening of the water route to aid shipments in late March, but even with Nampho back in service, many aid containers are still held up at Chinese ports due to quarantine.

“In Dandong and Dalian, there are an estimated 4000 containers backed up,” said Keith Luse, Executive Director of the National Committee on North Korea, at a think tank webinar on April 30.

These containers contain “seed, fertilizer, [and] medical supplies,” he said.

Edited by James Fretwell