Myanmar Regulators Rewrote Fuel Contracts to Mask Sanctioned Iranian Jet Fuel

A tanker named Reef delivered approximately 113,000 barrels of fuel to Myanmar in December 2025, yet the accompanying paperwork identified the cargo as diesel rather than the jet fuel it actually carried. Shipping data and internal documents reviewed by Reuters reveal that Myanmar’s regulatory authorities facilitated this discrepancy to help the country bypass US sanctions on its aviation sector.

The shipment was arranged by Dynamic Wave, a Myanmar-based energy broker, under a $15.8 million contract with Thailand’s Tawan-Oil Trading. The agreement ostensibly called for South African diesel, but data from the United Nations and Vortexa indicated no such trade occurred between those regions in 2025. Satellite tracking by SynMax Intelligence confirmed that Reef originated at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas before reaching Southeast Asia.

The mislabeling strategy appears to have been sanctioned by Myanmar’s own government. A letter dated November 30 from the country’s foreign exchange regulator instructed the client of Dynamic Wave that import documents would describe the delivery as diesel "instead of jet fuel." The directive did not provide a reason for the change and authorized payment to Tawan through Siam Commercial Bank, a financial institution named in a 2024 UN report as a key facilitator for Myanmar’s military procurement.

Washington imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s jet-fuel industry in 2023, citing the military’s bombing of civilian targets during the civil war that began after the generals seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Because US sanctions also apply to those buying Iranian oil, the disguise was necessary for the fuel to move legally through the system. The client, National Energy Prime Aviation Services Company, is part-owned by the military-backed government.

This December delivery was part of a pattern. In May 2025, Dynamic Wave signed a similar $26 million contract for 202,000 barrels of purported South African diesel. Platts data and expert analysis showed the fuel density matched jet fuel and the price exceeded global diesel benchmarks by more than 50%. The tanker Noble delivered just under 200,000 barrels to Yangon in June, having been loaded in Bandar Abbas.

The activist group Justice for Myanmar stated it obtained the key documents from a junta-run server that was briefly accessible to the public. A dead link to one file in search engine results suggests the documents were hosted there. The group advocates for further sanctions on Myanmar’s jet fuel imports, noting that the trade continues to provide Iran with foreign currency while supporting both commercial flights and military air raids.

Myanmar’s foreign ministry maintains that the military exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm, a claim the United Nations contested in August when it reported thousands of civilians killed in air attacks. Reuters could not determine if Siam Commercial Bank was aware of the specific nature of Tawan’s business, and neither the bank nor the trading firms responded to requests for comment.