Activists in Myanmar are asking a product tanker to turn away from the country over fears that the jet fuel on board will help facilitate the military junta’s airstrikes.
Kpler data shows the 19,000-dwt Santya (built 2013) is sailing to Yangon after loading about 148,000 barrels of aviation fuel from Singapore.
The Panama-flagged ship is due to arrive on Saturday.
Japanese energy group Eneos owns the small tanker, according to VesselsValue. The ship is managed by Singapore-based affiliate Eneos Ocean Shipmanagement, according to Equasis.
“It’s reckless of Eneos to ship jet fuel to Myanmar while the illegal military junta conducts indiscriminate airstrikes, committing grave crimes [with] total impunity,” said activist group Justice for Myanmar, adding that Eneos should halt the shipment. “The human rights risks are severe.”
It is not immediately known what company is supplying the fuel and which Burmese firm is importing it.
TradeWinds has approached Eneos for comment.
Jet fuel shipments to the South East Asian country have come under the spotlight after the Myanmar junta staged a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government in February.
The junta has launched a series of air assaults on rebel-held territory amid uprising across the nation in support of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling by the military took place in Rakhine and Chin States and thousands of civilians were displaced,” Amnesty International said.
Puma Energy, which operates the largest petroleum products import terminal in Myanmar, suspended all operations in the country earlier this year.
The move was designed to “protect the safety and security of our employees and partners”, the company said then.
Puma Energy is partly owned by trading giant Trafigura. Its terminal is in the Thilawa special economic zone on the outskirts of Yangon.
The US, the UK and European Union have imposed sanctions on individuals and companies linked to the Myanmar junta.
But some observers believe the restrictions are porous and cannot stop the junta from trading via third parties.
Kpler data shows the 19,999-dwt Yu Dong (built 2018) shipped 67,800 barrels of jet fuel from Singapore to Myanmar in April.
