By Kaya Selby, RNZ Pacific journalist
The Cook Islands Maritime Authority says a US-sanctioned oil tanker is falsely using Cook Islands identifiers to evade capture.
The Bertha, which flew under the Cooks flag for almost nine months in 2024, is among at least 16 vessels that have reportedly attempted to evade US blockades in Venezuela.
The New York Times reported the Bertha, under the false name of Ekta, had reportedly been located by US authorities in the Caribbean, but had yet to be captured.
Others have either been captured, or have “spoofed” (turned off) their signals to evade tracking, The NYT reported.
A major American naval blockade on Venezuela’s energy exports was introduced last month.
The Bertha was sanctioned for transportation of Iranian crude oil in December 2024, less than a month after it was deregistered by Maritime Cook Islands in November.
“It appears that Bertha is continuing to use Cook Islands identifiers (MMSI 518999103 and Call Sign E5U5084) in her Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions.” the authority said in a statement today.
Deceptive practice
This deceptive practice enables the vessel to show falsely as being registered with the Cook Islands on commercial tracking platforms.”
Numerous Cooks-flagged ships have been identified with Russia’s “shadow fleet” of vessels illicitly trading in Russian and Iranian crude oil.
Maritime Cook Islands said vessels within the “shadow fleet” are usually deceptive in their location signalling through Automatic Identification System (AIS) transmissions. This typically includes spoofing locations and broadcasting false vessel identities.
MarineTraffic.com, which lists the Bertha under the Cooks flag, reported the vessels last location near the Gulf of Guinea on December 23.
The Cook Islands Maritime Authority has been approached for further comment.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
