The government provided last week details to the UN Security Council (UNSC) about three North Korean vessels which were brought to Bangladesh for dismantling, officials said.
The three vessels, namely MV Great Hope, MV Ocean Galaxy, and Ocean Dawning are owned by North Korea-based Ocean Maritime Management (OMM) Company Ltd.
Of the vessels, MV Great Hope, a bulk carrier, was dismantled in Chittagong in April last year. The two other vessels - both bulk carriers - are at present 'under admiralty law suits' in Bangladesh, the UN Council was told.
Sources said the UNSC panel of experts in July last year sought details about the three vessels from the Bangladesh authority. The panel is scheduled to submit a comprehensive report about these vessels to the Security Council by January 15 this year.
The panel also sought a list of crew members, copies of documents obtained by the Bangladesh port authorities showing the vessels' operators, characters, registered owners, and insurance providers, and names and contact information of the local shipping agents who were asked by the ship operators to provide ship agent services for the vessels' port visits.
According to some documents obtained by the FE, the UN has been following the activities of Hiroshi Kasatsugu, a Japanese agent who worked for OMM.
Mr Kasatsugu is a director of several Hong Kong-registered companies all of which are listed in the database of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as operators and owners of vessels having links to North Korea.
The UN sought details about these vessels as part of its investigation against Mr Kasatsugu, officials said.
"Our investigation is not targeted at Bangladeshi companies, but at the vessels' owners and operators," it said.
Foreign secretary (marine affairs unit) Khurshed Alam, while talking to the FE, acknowledged sending detailed info about the vessels to the UN.
He said Bangladesh earlier had denied access to Chittagong port of a North Korean vessel which previously carried hidden arms and missiles.
Deputy Conservator at the Chittagong Port Authority Captain Nazmul Alam told the FE Sunday that the vessels in question had taken permission from the port authority for dismantling.
He acknowledged sending detailed info about the vessels as sought by the UN.
Mr Alam said presently Bangladesh is the second largest ship-scrapping country in the world.Anyone can bring vessels from any country here for dismantling, he added.
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