Nine boats seized, helmsmen detained for allegedly breaching junta travel restrictions

13 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
13 October 2022, Sittwe 

Myanmar’s military regime has seized nine boats moored near Min Chaung Bridge in Sittwe, and also detained nine people including some of the owners and helmsmen of those vessels.

Junta soldiers and police arrested the nine on Wednesday evening for allegedly transporting goods in contravention of a regime-imposed travel ban, said a vessel owner who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.

“Around 40 soldiers and police seized nine boats,” he said.

Two vessels from Sittwe, one from Pauktaw, and six from Rathedaung were seized as they were planning to depart after buying goods from Sittwe.

A female passenger who witnessed the arrests said: “We were sitting on the boat [when junta personnel arrived]. We were told to get off and went up to Min Chaung Bridge. Then we were told to go to our destination by ourselves. We had to change boats around four times, and only arrived in Rathedaung at 9:30 p.m.”

The nine detainees were taken to Yay Chan Pyin Jetty in Sittwe, where they were interrogated for more than one hour before being taken to Sittwe police station. They were reportedly asked whether they have boat licences and what types of goods they were carrying.

The seizure of cargo vessels will seriously disrupt commodity flows while the regime has blocked land routes, said a boat owner who asked for anonymity.

The regime has denied access to the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road since June 16. The road is a major route for commodities transported between Ponnagyun and Rathedaung.

Since its renewed fighting with the Arakan Army, the regime has restricted access to the Yay Chan Pyin-Agnumaw road, Angumaw-Maungdaw road, Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road, Myebon-Minbya road as well as some roads in northern Maungdaw, and has also restricted water transport.