South Korea has detained the Tanzania-flagged bulk carrier Prada after an inter-agency investigation found the vessel had participated in activities breaching United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea, according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The investigation began after the ship entered Pyeongtaek port in March. Prada, IMO 1079345, arrived on 13 March and no subsequent departure was recorded, leaving the vessel at the port for about four months before its detention was publicly confirmed in a written response issued on 21 July and an official press notice distributed on 22 July.
The 17,400-dwt, 10,730-gt bulker was built in 2008 and is registered in Zanzibar under the flag of Tanzania. It previously traded as Sophia and, before that, as the China-flagged Hua Tai Shan.
Prada was one of seven ships included in a 29 May joint statement by South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and New Zealand, together with the European External Action Service. The vessels had been proposed for designation by the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee in December 2025 under Resolution 2321. The proposed listings remained under consideration at the time of the statement.
While trading as Sophia, the vessel was linked to suspected coal-loading operations at North Korea’s Nampo port in September and December 2024. UN Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korean exports of coal and iron ore. The ship also called at Busan in November 2025, remaining there for about five hours after arriving from Nakhodka. It declared Weda in Indonesia as its next destination.
Zhongxiang Shipping is a Marshall Islands-based company identified in the IMO GISIS database as Prada’s operating company.