Though most of Sittwe City’s food and goods are delivered by privately-owned cargo ships the junta has banned them from docking anywhere in Sittwe City, the Arakan (Rakhine) State capital.
The junta had already imposed strict blockades on transport using land routes and waterways in Rakhine State. In August it also stopped privately-owned cargo ships from docking in Sittwe City.
These ships primarily bring food products into Sittwe from other regions in Myanmar and take furniture out of Sittwe.
A Sittwe City based trader said: "Private cargo ships are no longer allowed to dock in Sittwe. We were also shipping furniture and other essentials for war-displaced people from Arakan State who are currently sheltering in Yangon Region. With the docking ban in place, we can't carry out those shipments either.”
Whilst the junta has banned privately-owned cargo boats, junta-operated vessels are docking at Sittwe City to transport government employees to Yangon.
A Sittwe City resident said: "Government employees in Sittwe are being relocated to Yangon, but it's still unclear which department's employees have been transferred. When we were preparing to ship our family's car and motorcycle to Yangon, private vessels were suddenly banned from docking.”
Since the ban on privately-owned vessels came in, the price of most consumer goods in Sittwe has risen.
People who want to leave Sittwe City because they are worried that fighting will soon reach the city have also been impacted. Airfares were already very expensive with a flight from Sittwe to Yangon typically costing between 450,000 MMK and 500,000 MMK and the private vessel ban has made it even harder for them to leave.
A trader from Sittwe City who wants to leave said: "Now the fighting has spread to areas around Sittwe City. We want to evacuate, but we can't afford plane tickets for the whole family. That’s why we considered traveling by river as a cheaper option, but with the junta blocking ships from docking, we can’t choose either, and now we're stuck here.”
Since the resurgence of fighting in Arakan State, Sittwe City Port has become a logistics hub for the junta who use it to import construction materials and food for its battalions across the city.
