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Cook Islands Questions Removal From Global Shipping Database
Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist
The Cook Islands is seeking clarification on why it was removed from an international shipping database aimed at combating illicit shipping activities.
Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) staff were told in May that it was removed from the Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) due to a "potential violation of the Terms and Conditions that was agreed upon at the time of registration".
"MCI reached out to the founding members of RISC on 8 May 2025 and again on 13 May and again on 21 May. MCI has not had a response from any of them," a statement from MCI said.
"MCI is at a loss to understand what possible violation has been committed."
The Cook Islands ejection from the information-sharing database was first reported by shipping media Lloyd's List on 20 May.
However, the Cook Islans maintains that it does not allow any sanctioned vessels to remain on its register, and has not registered vessels that had been flagged by a RISC member.
"There were no 'terms and conditions' discussed or agreed to at the time that MCI joined RISC."
RISC was formed in 2019 by the world's three largest ship registries: Liberia, the Marshal Islands and Panama.
The membership now includes Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Honduras, Vanuatu, Dominica, Belize, Moldova and Antigua and Barbuda.
The database allows registries to share details about vessels and avoid clamp down on "flag hopping" - where a vessel jumps from one registry to another to avoid international sanctions.
MCI's statement said the Cook Islands registry was among the first to join after the founding members in May 2020.
"MCI supports the aims and objectives of RISC," the statement said.
It said that in March, during the Cook Islands International Maritime Organisation Legal Committee, the country "highlighted the RISC compact as an industry best practice".
The Cook Islands-registered ship, Eagle S, was seized on Christmas Day 2024 in the Baltic Sea by Finnish authorities, who believed the vessel severed the Estlink 2 submarine cable that carries electricity from Finland to Estonia.
Eagle S is also thought to be linked to Russia's shadow fleet, which seeks to evade sanctions on the sale of Russian oil.
Last month, both the Ministry of Transport and Maritime Cook Islands said that the ship has never been under sanctions.
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