VZCZCXRO0092
PP RUEHMJ RUEHPB
DE RUEHWL #0316/01 1090513
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 190513Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 4820
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4171
INFO RUEHMJ/AMEMBASSY MAJURO 0110
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 0650
RUEHSV/AMEMBASSY SUVA 0588
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 0522
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RUWDQAA/CCGDFOURTEEN HONOLULU HI

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 
 
WELLINGTON 00000316  002 OF 003 
 
 
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 
 
WELLINGTON 00000316  003 OF 003 
 
 
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