Sanctioned oil tanker falsely using Cook Islands flag, authority says

The Cook Islands says a US sanctioned oil tanker is falsely using their country's identifiers to evade capture. The Bertha, which flew under the Cooks flag for almost nine months in 2024, is among at ...
Al-Monitor

Pacific island office enabling sanctions-busting 'shadow fleets'

The Cook Islands was one of the 'top countries whose flags are used by shadow tankers transporting Russian crude oil', according to a European Parliament briefing from 2024 — Marty Melville Dozens of ...
The Diplomat

Shifting Models of Sovereignty in the Pacific

Despite their best intentions, the Biden administration brought a simmering Pacific tension to a head in September 2022. What started as an oversight in compiling an invitation list became something ...
The Diplomat

Cook Islands’ China Shock: A ‘Frog in the Pot’ Moment for Pacific Security

From left to right, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of the Cook Islands Tukaka Ama, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Chinese Minister ...
WFMZ-TV

Pacific island office enabling sanctions-busting 'shadow fleets'

The Cook Islands was one of the "top countries whose flags are used by shadow tankers transporting Russian crude oil", according to the briefing. The Royal United Services Institute, a leading UK ...
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Pacific island office enabling sanctions-busting 'shadow fleets'

Dozens of oil tankers suspected of smuggling contraband crude for Russia and Iran have been using a beachside office in the tropical South Pacific to cover their tracks, an AFP analysis of sanctions ...
KTBS

Pacific island office enabling sanctions-busting 'shadow fleets'

Without ever setting foot in the palm-fringed microstate, foreign ship owners can pay Maritime Cook Islands to sail under its star-studded flag. United States sanctions data identifies 20 tankers ...