Sea-Tanker-Ii

A former officer who was involved with two others in falsifying documents and hindering investigations related to the 'Sea Tanker II' was sentenced to six months’ jail at the State Courts of the Republic of Singapore on June 5, 2023. Jeremy Koh Renfeng, 40, pleaded guilty to two charges of intentionally obstructing the course of justice – providing false information in the ship’s official log book, and dismantling and disposing of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) into the sea. His co-conspirators Assistant Marine Superintendent Ong Chou Hong Aaron and Cargo Officer Tan Chun Kiat Benn were respectively sentenced to nine and six months in jail in February. Between Oct 26, 2018 and Dec 8, the Singapore authorities received information alleging the 'Sea Tanker II' being engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer with DPRK-flagged vessels. On Nov 5, the Maritime Port Authority (MPA) requested for documents from Sea Hub Tankers, including MT Sea Tanker II’s official log book, oil record book part II, charter party agreement(s) and bill of lading(s). Between Nov 5 and Dec 6, 2018, Aaron and Benny gave instructions to Jeremy that the records in the official logbook and various records would need to be re-written. The trio communicated by WhatsApp to construct and present a false narrative of the movement of the vessel which could then be provided to the authorities – with a view to conceal its true movements and cargo operations.