COOPERATING WITH GNZ TO SHORE UP WEAK COOKS VESSEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000316

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR D (FRITZ),EAP/FO, EUR/RPM, EAP/ANP AND
OES FOR WGIBBONS-FLY
SUVA FOR REO JMURPHY
NSC FOR VICTOR CHA
SECDEF FOR OSD/ISD JESSICA POWERS
PACOM FOR J01E/J2/J233/J5/SJFHQ
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR PAUL FUJIMURA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: ASEC PREL PGOV CW NZ
SUBJECT: COOPERATING WITH GNZ TO SHORE UP WEAK COOKS VESSEL
REGISTRY

REF: A. EMAIL FROM CDR PHIL WELZANT USCG - 2/8/2007

B. SUVA 153

C. EMAIL FROM BRAD KIESERMAN USCG - 4/5/2007

D. EMAIL FROM JOE MURPHY REO SUVA - 4/5/2007

Classified By: DCM David Keegan,
for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (U) This contains action recommendations at paras 12-13.


2. (C) Summary: Embassy is concerned that recent Coast Guard
seizures of Cook Island vessels in the Caribbean indicate
that weaknesses in the Cooks' vessel registry are being
exploited by organized crime. The GNZ is worried, too,
having earlier identified a problem with Cook Island vessels
being used for illegal Antarctic fishing. New Zealand's High
Commission has passed on our concerns to the Cook Islands
Foreign Minister, who agrees that his government needs to
address potential weaknesses in the privately-run registry.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials share
our assessment that joint cooperation between US and NZ
officials to help the Cooks through this process would
benefit all three governments. MFAT believes we should work
quickly to address the problem, taking advantage of the GCI's
and registry's interest. Post suggestions for some ways the
USG can offer assistance are at para 12-13. We also will
raise these suggestions with DHS official Paul Fujimura
during his April 23-4 trip to Wellington. End summary.

Background
--------------


3. (SBU) Over a period of 10 weeks from February to April
2007, Embassy Wellington received three separate requests
from the USCG regarding Cook Islands-flagged vessels
operating in the Caribbean Sea. Each vessel was under USCG
investigation for drug trafficking. Three vessels represents
a sizable proportion of the Cook Islands fleet as a whole
(126 vessels) and of that subportion operating in the
Caribbean (approximately 22 vessels).


4. (SBU) We received the first request on February 1, when
Lt. Cmdr Gary Tomasulo, Office of Law Enforcement, United
States Coast Guard called with an urgent request to get Cook
Island permission to board and search the Cooks registered
vessel "Wave Tamer," which was in the Caribbean heading for
international waters and would soon be beyond any coastal
state's jurisdiction. Within two hours, we received GCI
permission via the Cooks High Commission in Wellington.
(Note: NZ officials were helpful in this process, and told us
that that GNZ also had concerns regarding the registration of
Cook Island fishing vessels.) The Wave Tamer was boarded on
the high seas and searched, but no drugs were found. After a
subsequent port call in Miami, a more thorough search
resulted in the seizure of 5 kilos of cocaine. USCG
officials reported to us that there were nine persons on
board the vessel of various nationalities: Barbados (1),
Nicaraguan (1),Guatemalan (1),Honduran (3) and Dominican
(3) (Ref A). A week later, Wellington received notification
that USCG might request permission to board a second Cook
Islands-flagged vessel, the "Lady Bernadette" (or variant),
but the request never came through.


5. (SBU) In late February, the Embassy asked Regional
Environment Officer (REO) Joe Murphy, who was headed to the
Cooks for an unrelated meeting, to meet with officials from
the Ministry of Marine Resources to learn more about the
Cooks vessel registry. Murphy reported that the Cooks had
"problematic flagging practices" and recognized the potential
for a U.S. opportunity to offer assistance (Ref B).


6. (SBU) Over the March 31 weekend, USCG officials contacted

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the Embassy about a third Cook Island-flagged vessel under
investigation for drug trafficking in the Caribbean, the M/V
Alpha and Omega, which was transiting U.S. territorial waters
off of Puerto Rico. On April 2, Embassy Wellington advised
the Cook Islands High Commission that the USCG intended to
board and search the vessel. Suspected of transporting 2,000
kilos of cocaine, the vessel was boarded in U.S. territorial
waters and subsequently investigated in Puerto Rico. While
no drug seizure was made, we understand from USCG officials
that there were dozens of positive ion scans for cocaine and
heroin (Ref C). During the boarding and search, USCG
officials received calls from a person purporting to be
Captain Andy Scheer, Deputy Registrar of the Cook Islands
Vessel Registry, who sought information about why the vessel
was being boarded. USCG officials later advised us that it
was possible to acquire a Cook Islands registry document on
the Internet with a credit card and provided us with a
website address.


7. (C) In early April, REO Murphy told Post's Pacific Islands
officer (PacOff) that at the March U.S. South Pacific Tuna
Treaty Consultations in Vanuatu, USCG and NOAA National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) representatives briefed Peter
Graham, Acting Policy and Legal Director of the Cook Islands
Ministry of Marine Resources, on the outcomes of USG
deliberations on how to treat Cook Islands "demise charter"
vessels. U.S. owners who chose to participate in the Cook
Islands "temporary re-flagging program" would void their
status as U.S.-flagged vessels. In effect, it appears that
some vessels were dual-registered as U.S. and Cook
Islands-flagged vessels -- further demonstrating the weakness
of the Cook Islands vessel registry.

Follow-up with MFAT
--------------


8. (C) In the wake of the third vessel incident, PacOff
discussed our Cook Islands concerns with MFAT's Cook Islands
desk officer and Legal Division as well as the Ministry of
Fisheries (MFish). As a result of the meeting, the NZ High
Commission in Rarotonga weighed in with the Cook Islands
Foreign Minister Wilkie Rasmussen. After talking with Glenn
Armstrong, CEO of Marine Cook Islands (MCI) -- the private
entity that operates the Cooks vessel registry -- Rasmussen
agreed that MCI's due diligence process leaves something to
be desired. He suggested a three-way meeting between GCI, NZ
High Commission and MCI to discuss greater regulatory
control.


9. (C) At a follow up meeting on April 12 with MFAT's Pacific
Division Director Heather Riddell and other MFAT officials,
Pol-Econ officer and Pacoff learned that a new Ships
Registration Bill was to go before the Cooks Island
Parliament the next week that is designed to strengthen the
powers for the registry to cancel a registration. (NB: We
are seeking through MFAT more information regarding the
legislation text and its interpretation of potential impact.)



10. (C) MFAT also shared with us an e-mail from Glenn
Armstrong that reinforces our concerns about the registry
process. Armstrong notes that the registry's role is to
ensure that a vessel is seaworthy and that the crew is
competent to sail the vessel. He also says that while
all/all Cook Islands-flagged vessels are owned by a
"qualified person" or Cook Islands International Company, the
Cooks Islands Trust performs contract management for
90-percent of these companies, the majority of whose owners
are resident in the United States. The Cook Islands Trust
told Armstrong that its due diligence involves obtaining
information on the owners and directors of the companies,
including full names and address, certified copies of

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passports, banks statements and utility bills. The Trust
also requires applicants to sign a form confirming that they
have not been convicted of any crime, investigated by a
government agency or refused entry to another country. It
does not appear that registration applicants are actually
seen in person, that the vessels are physically inspected, or
that there is criminal background check. (NB: On April 13,
post forwarded a copy of Armstrong's e-mail to EAP/ANP (Ricci
and Vajda),OES (Tousley) and USCG (Brad Kieserman).)


11. (SBU) Riddell says a lax CI vessel registry has long been
a GNZ concern and is obviously an area where a bit of
technical assistance could go a long way. Officials from
both sides agreed that it could be valuable for all of us to
work together in this direction.

Recommended Next Steps
--------------


12. (C) Cooks officials clearly recognize they have a
potential problem that if not addressed could shut down an
important revenue source for their tiny nation. (Although the
registry is private, some of its earnings go to the GCI.)
Post believes we have a prime opportunity to address the
weakness in the Cook Islands vessel registry in a
cooperative, multilateral way that could serve as a model for
an expanded effort in the Pacific region. The special
constitutional relationship between New Zealand and the Cook
Islands, as well as our ongoing efforts to improve US-NZ
cooperation on Pacific Island security issues, makes New
Zealand a natural partner in this process. Given that
Australia has a patrol vessel deployed to the Cook Islands as
part of its Pacific patrol boat program, Australia is also a
logical partner, and Riddell said she would engage NZ's High
Commission in Canberra to assess Australian interest. Throw
in Niue, another jurisdiction with which New Zealand has a
special constitutional relationship, and any initiative to
strengthen vessel registries begins to take on a critical
mass.


13. (C) As one small step we can take to address this
problem, Post recommends that we and other partners provide
the Cooks with a third-party audit of the Cook Islands vessel
registry. This would clean the slate for the registry and
give them a sound baseline for going forward. Secondly, we
should explore whether US officials could help the Cooks
screen those registry applicants based in the United States.
Thirdly, a multilateral assistance team of law of sea and
maritime experts from New Zealand and United States could
offer technical advise on legislative fixes and regulatory
oversight. Finally, we should explore negotiating a
pre-boarding agreement with the Cooks that would obviate the
need to get GCI clearance every time we wish to board a
vessel on the high seas. As MFAT points out, such an
agreement in itself could provide a strong disincentive for
drug runners to use Cooks-registered vessels.


14. (C) Post requests Department response to this proposed
approach. We would also welcome any thoughts from Embassy
Canberra.

McCormick