Loaded with undetermined weapons and accused of shipping illicit drugs, the North Korean Chong Chon Gang has been anchored off the Atlantic Side of Panama on Wednesday.

According to the Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli the ship was stopped as they suspected it to hold illegal substances. When checked, it was found that the ship’s cargo consisted of what looked to be an old Soviet-made radar system for surface-to-air missiles, which is able to strike enemy jets at high altitudes.

The United Nations were asked to help search the ship after their imposed weapon-transport ban on North Korea.

In a post by USA Today, it’s revealed that the Gang had quite a history, built in 1977 and registered to Pyongyang-based Chongchongang Shipping Company, this is not the first suspected offense.

These have been some of the The Chong Chon Gang’s adventures:

They ship:

• Detained for trafficking drugs and ammunition
• Stopped in 2012 in the Black Sea for unknown reasons
• Attacked by pirates in 2009 on the Arabian Sea
• Docked at Vostochnyy, Russia where its listed destination was Havana, Cuba.
• Disappeared off the international tracing system after Vostochnyy on April 12

It is standard procedure for ships to transmit their location at all times to a satellite-based international Automatic Identification System. When the ship disappeared off this tracking system, it was an indication that the crew may have switched it off on purpose.

The ship then popped up again on 31 May about 7,500 nautical miles away in Balboa, disappearing a few days later and reappearing in Manzanillo 11 July.

USA Today:

It is illegal, but still happens. There are not only criminal activities which make vessel switch off their AIS antenna, it could be fishing vessels, or other vessels, where tracking might give the competition a commercial advantage.

[Source: USA Today]