A Russian cargo ship alleged to be part of a weapons trade scheme with North Korea appeared to pick up cargo at one of the largest container ports in the Russian Far East between trips to the DPRK this month, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery.

The appearance of the Angara cargo ship at Vostochny Port near Nakhodka ahead of another trip to North Korea’s Rason Port (Rajin) on Sunday represents the strongest evidence yet that the Russian container port serves as a second base for facilitating the alleged sanctions-busting weapons trade.

The U.S. presented evidence in early October that ships were ferrying containers full of weapons between Rason and a small, secure Russian military port at Dunay (Dunai) to the east of Vladivostok. Washington claimed Russian trains were carrying the containers from there to an outdoor storage depot near Ukraine for use in Moscow’s invasion.

Russia denies the allegations, and Washington has not released photos clearly showing that weapons are in the containers, though the cargo’s movement through a military port has given credence to the U.S. claims. 

NK Pro subsequently published evidence that the operation started in August, another Russian cargo ship called Lady R is likely involved and the Russian ships are employing deceptive tactics to evade detection, including not broadcasting their locations.

British think tank RUSI also revealed that the start of expanded construction on the outdoor weapons depot near Ukraine matched up with the start of the shipping activity, and that another Russian cargo ship named Maria is also involved.

RASON TO VOSTOCHNY AND BACK

According to NK Pro analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery, the 126-meter-long Angara cargo ship (IMO: 9179842) appears to have made at least three trips to North Korea’s Rason Port since August, traveling three times to Russia’s secretive Dunay military port and once to Vostochny container port in between. 

It also showed up at least twice off the coast of Vladivostok between trips to Rason.

NK Pro has determined that the likely timeline of Angara’s activities in recent months is as follows:

• Aug. 10 – Stops broadcasting via automatic identification system (AIS) from near Korsakov Port in Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast
• Aug. 18 – At Russia’s Dunay port (Planet Labs)
• Sept. 3 – Picks up containers from North Korea’s Rason Port (Planet Labs satellite imagery)
• Sept. 6-7 – At Russia’s Dunay port, likely unloading and loading containers (Planet Labs)
• Sept. 12-21 – At Dunay port again after disappearing for a few days (Planet Labs and photo released by U.S. taken on Sept. 12)
• Sept. 23 – Anchored in waters off coast of Vladivostok (photo posted by a user of vessel tracking website MarineTraffic)
• Sept. 24 – At Rason Port unloading and possibly later loading containers (Planet Labs)
• Oct. 2 – At Rason Port unloading and possibly later loading containers (Planet Labs)
• Oct. 6-11 – At Vostochny Port loading containers and possibly earlier unloading (Planet Labs)
• Oct. 14 – Anchored in waters off coast of Vladivostok (photo posted by a user of vessel tracking website MarineTraffic)
• Oct. 22-23 – At Rason Port unloading and later loading containers (Planet Labs)

NK Pro previously revealed that the Lady R cargo ship was also seen at Vostochny Port in early October before heading to Rason Port, but there was a chance this activity was related to assignments before starting the North Korea trade operation.

But the loading of cargo onto the Angara at Vostochny Port between its trips to Rason makes it more likely that there have been direct transfers between the two ports. 

It remains possible that the Angara went to another port in between Vostochny and Rason, but NK Pro has not found a ship matching its profile in available Planet Labs imagery of the region.

The Angara’s visit to the ordinary container port at Vostochny after its previous trip to the secretive military port at Dunay may be an attempt to provide cover against Washington’s claim that the ship is involved in weapons trade, since Russia maintains that there is no proof that ships are moving weapons specifically.

PORT OF CALL

Vostochny Port has a history of maintaining ties with North Korea, including with ships accused of breaching the DPRK sanctions regime.

The Russian group Global Ports owns the company that operates the container terminal at Vostochny Port, according to corporate records compiled by Sayari, a service aggregating company information. None of the entities controlled by Global Ports appear to be under international sanctions.

However, in 2018, the Russian logistics company Profinet operating in Vostochny Port provided services to internationally sanctioned vessels flying North Korean colors, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

OFAC states that two vessels — the CHON MYONG 1 and RYE SONG GANG 1 — carried “thousands of metric tons of refined oil products” to Russian ports on at least six separate occasions, including to Vostochny Port, with Profinet providing fuel to the ships despite being aware of potential sanctions violations.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Profinet and its chief executive claiming that the head of the company was personally involved in “North Korea-related deals and interacted directly with North Korean representatives in Russia.”

Meanwhile, the Dossier media portal run by embattled former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky has reported that the Angara carried 50.69 tons of missiles with bursting charges on at least one recent trip, citing vessel documents. 

According to the portal, the papers do not mention the vessel making a port of call in North Korea but list Strelok Bay, where the military port of Dunay is located.

NK Pro could not independently verify the claim, while Dossier was not immediately available to corroborate their findings.

Edited by Bryan Betts