By Losirene Lacanivalu, Cook Islands News
Deputy Prime Minister Albert Nicholas and Prime Minister Mark Brown in Parliament on 25 February 2025. Photo: Cook Islands News
Deputy Prime Minister Albert Nicholas confirmed that more than 700 shipping vessels are registered under Maritime Cook Islands and from these Cook Islands-flagged ships, he claims there are no illegal operators.
Nicholas mentioned this in parliament last week in response to Opposition Leader Tina Browne's question (on Tuesday) on how the Ministry of Transport was addressing the problem of Cook Islands-flagged ships being arrested overseas.
"My question is to the Minister of Transport. We are aware that 18 of the Cook Islands-flagged ships have been arrested overseas. The allegation is that they are participating in the transporting of arms to Russia.
"It is also claimed that these boats are uninsured and the risk there is the release of crude oil from those boats if some disaster occurred. The question is, how are you addressing the problem of these boats that's carrying Cook Islands flags and giving us a very bad name out there? Browne questioned.
Nicholas said: "If their allegations are proven to be accurate then there needs to be an investigation conducted concerning these issues. I'll be mindful in making any form of comments."
He had asked Browne to give him some time to conduct his own investigation with the Ministry of Transport team to gather some information to collaborate with what MP Browne was suggesting.
a photo taken on December 28, 2024 off Porkkalanniemi, Kirkkonummi, in the Gulf of Finland, shows oil tanker Eagle S (R), which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, next to Finnish border guard ship Uisko (back C) and tugboat Ukko (front L). Photo: AFP / Jussi Nukari
Nicholas said if there is some issue, then they can be rest assured that it would be a serious breach of the conditions pertaining to being flagged as CI registered vessel.
"There are currently over 780 foreign vessels registered with Marine Cook Islands (MCI). I must admit, I was surprised by that number; I hadn't expected it to be so high. This information is readily accessible on the Marine Cook Islands website.
He added there are no illegal operators or foreign-registered ships on our registry at this time.
"The reason for this, Mr Speaker, is that these vessels have either been deregistered or have voluntarily removed themselves from the registry. I have been assured that Marine Cook Islands (Maritime Cook Island) is an open registration entity accessible to mariners from around the world. "To register, individuals must apply and complete an application, which then undergoes a due diligence process. This application is subject to a vetting procedure that requires specific information, and … that even this process can be quite lengthy. There are several screening mechanisms in place within the process, Mr Speaker, and these must be satisfied before any decision is made."
However on Thursday last week, Nicholas said that his team at the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Cook Islands could not find anything on the alleged 18 vessels that Browne mentioned.
He said: "The Ministry searched / probed for the so-called 18 vessels that were arrested overseas for allegations of transporting arms to Russia. The Ministry of Transport and Maritime Cook Islands could not find… so I suggest for the sake of transparency, this is a serious allegation the honourable member could have at least supplied the names of the 18 ships alleged to have been Cook Islands flagged and arrested overseas."
He said if there were any merit to the allegations then rightful steps would have been taken.
Cook Islands News has published several articles in the past months and years on Cook Islands-flagged vessels that were sanctioned.
In December last year, Cook Islands News published an article about a Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker that was at the centre of an international investigation for its suspected role in the damage of an undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia, raising concerns about the country's shipping registry being used by Russia's 'shadow fleet' to circumvent sanctions.
Eagle S, an aging oil tanker, had been seized by the Finnish authorities and was held under police and naval guard in the Gulf of Finland.
The New York Times had reported that authorities said the tanker may be part of Russia's "shadow fleet", which President Vladimir V. Putin has used to circumvent Western-imposed sanctions on Russian oil exports and to conduct acts of sabotage.
The ship was registered with Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) that operates under a delegation of authority from the Cook Islands Ministry of Transport. It is responsible for administering all Flag State responsibilities on behalf of the Cook Islands Government.
In August last year MCI denied allegations of being a haven for Russian-linked tankers, stating that the registry complied with international sanctions. These allegations stemmed from reports that the registry had become a significant home for the so-called "dark fleet" of tankers trading Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil. The dark fleet refers to tankers that engage in dark activities, or use deceptive shipping practices to transport crude oil, and other wet cargo.
In January this year, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration said that the Government was fully aware of the situation and took the allegations made through global media coverage very seriously.
Meanwhile, according to Baird Maritime, like Palau, the Cook Islands is another Pacific micro-state that has emerged as one of the largest dark fleet registries, taking on huge numbers of ageing tankers carrying Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan crude.
And it became a top thirty registry in 2024 and with over seven million DWT of tankers newly registered in 2024 up to July.
-This article was first published by Cook Islands News.
