The joint opposition parties have called on all relevant institutions that are responsible for such issues to explain the recently surfaced controversy behind the use of the Maldivian flag  aboard an oil tanker named “Xin Yuan 18”.

Speaking in a press conference held by the joint opposition parties in M. Kunooz on Thursday night, member of parliament for Gan constituency Fayyaz Ismail said that it is believed that a North Korean ship named “Chon Ma San” had smuggled oil from a ship named “Xin Yuan 18” that had operated under the Maldivian flag.

Fayyaz said that this is a very distressing matter.

“What’s most concerning is that Maldives has slipped into a worldwide crisis. The Japanese government having claimed that the boat had been operated under the Maldivian flag is a very alarming matter” Fayyaz said.

Although the Maldivian government has released a statement denying this, the joint parties have revealed that the information shared with international maritime studies comes directly from relevant institutions.

This is an international crime.

What concerns us most is the lack of attention towards the matter from the Maldivian government while a random ship is sailing the international waters bearing the Maldivian flag. The government had thoughtlessly dismissed the matter without cautiously looking into it.

The Joint Opposition has claimed that state institutions have a hand in this, noting that private parties do not have the authority to have a registered vessel under them.

Jumhooree party’s secretary general Ahmed Sameer stated that, if this is indeed the work of the government, the nation will have to face humiliation and threats may come the country’s way.

Maldivian Democratic Party in a statement released on their official website claimed that “the party is extremely concerned that President Yameen has been caught up, once again, in an illegal scheme to smuggle oil in violation of UN sanctions”.

“In the early 2000s, President Yameen was head of an international smuggling ring that provided oil to the Burmese military junta, in breach of UN sanctions” according to the statement on MDP’s website.