The Iranian-flagged container ship boarded by U.S. forces Sunday was a frequent visitor to Chinese ports, and it had spent time in waters known for illicit ship-to-ship transfers, according to open source tracking data and shipping experts.
The MV Touska, seized Sunday after trying to break the U.S. blockade and enter an Iranian port, spent much of the last year shuttling between Chinese and Iranian ports, according to Seasearcher, an online vessel-tracking platform from Lloyd's List Intelligence. The vessel’s sailing record set off red flags for some shipping analysts, since China has in the past helped supply Iran with chemicals for its ballistic missile program. The MV Touska is sanctioned by the U.S. due to its involvement in illegal activity.
The Chinese foreign ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to frequenting Chinese ports, the Touska has a history of loitering in areas known for illicit ship-to-ship transfers, said Ray Powell, director of the maritime transparency foundation SeaLight. “It's a suggestion that they may be taking advantage of the environment there” to smuggle goods, Powell said.
The maritime-data company Windward gave the Touska a high smuggling risk score due to its dark-fleet activity, loitering events and meetings with Iran-flagged vessels, the company said in a social-media post after the U.S. boarding.
President Trump said the Touska was in U.S. custody on Sunday, and that the U.S. was looking into the ship’s cargo. Last week, Trump said that he wrote a letter to Chinese leader Xi Jinping asking him not to send weapons to Iran and that Xi replied saying Beijing wasn’t doing so.
