[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] A Russian shipping company designated as a target of U.S. unilateral sanctions in 2018 for violating North Korea sanctions has declared bankruptcy.
The U.S. Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on the 2nd, citing the Primorsky Krai Arbitration Court in Russia, that the Vladivostok-based shipping company 'Gudzon' has declared bankruptcy.
Gudzon was designated as a target of the U.S. Treasury Department's unilateral sanctions in August 2018 for illegally transferring refined oil products to North Korea on the high seas using ship-to-ship methods.
Afterwards, facing difficulties due to the cancellation of long-term overseas contracts, the company proceeded with bankruptcy procedures as it failed to repay debts and fines amounting to approximately $182,000, including unpaid wages.
It is known that overseas oil companies and ship repair companies refused to supply fuel or repair ships out of concern that they might become targets of secondary boycotts (third-party sanctions), causing difficulties in fulfilling transactions.
In 2019, at Pohang Port in South Korea, the cargo ship 'Partizan' belonging to Gudzon was stranded after Korean companies refused to supply fuel while transporting scrap cargo, and another Gudzon cargo ship, the 'Sevastopol', was also subject to a departure suspension order by Korean authorities in September 2018.
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