Liberian oil tanker that falsely flew Palau flag linked to Hong Kong-based firm
- A ship that recently loaded Venezuelan crude was using a false signal to disguise its identity, potentially putting the Pacific nation in breach of US sanctions
- The tanker was actually the Liberian-flagged Calliop, registered to Hong Kong-based Oderand Shipping SA, a cybersecurity analyst said
The island nation of Palau says an oil tanker that recently loaded Venezuelan crude was using a false signal to disguise its identity, potentially putting the nation in the crosshairs of US sanctions.
Palau is asking Venezuela to investigate the vessel that claimed last month to be the Ndros.
The Ndros was a Palau-flagged ship that was scrapped in Pakistan in 2018, and so could not be the vessel that appeared in December off the coast of Venezuela, according to a letter dated December 16 that the government of Palau shared with Bloomberg.
“It appears that this vessel is claiming to be registered with the Palau International Ship Registry. This claim is false,” Palau’s ministry of state said in the note to Venezuela’s foreign affairs ministry. “It therefore appears that the vessel is using a falsified AIS signal to mask its true identity.”
The letter was delivered to several Venezuelan embassies, including the one in Tokyo, says Steven Kanai, a special assistant to Palau’s president on international maritime matters and foreign relations.
