Andaman Sea “Ghost Fleet” Fuels Myanmar’s War

UNHCR

A hidden maritime network in the Andaman Sea is sustaining Myanmar’s military junta and deepening the Rohingya tragedy. Known as the “ghost fleet,” these vessels operate invisibly, switching off tracking systems to evade detection while trafficking both people and fuel.

The Rohingya, stripped of citizenship in 1982 and described by the UN as victims of “ethnic cleansing,” continue their perilous exodus from Rakhine State. Many attempt crossings from Bangladesh’s Teknaf coast, only to be packed onto overcrowded boats bound for the Andaman Sea. Once at sea, traffickers deploy the so‑called “Ghost Protocol,” disabling transponders and turning vessels into floating prisons. Refugees are held in appalling conditions, while crews themselves are often coerced into months of unpaid labour.

The same clandestine routes also serve the junta’s war machine. Ship‑to‑ship transfers in international waters deliver sanctioned jet fuel from Russia and Iran, enabling airstrikes by Chinese‑made aircraft against civilians. Documents are falsified to disguise the fuel’s origin, laundering it through Southeast Asian ports. Without these operations, analysts say, the junta would struggle to sustain its bombing campaigns.

The humanitarian toll is staggering. Data from 2025–26 shows one in five people attempting the Andaman Sea route is missing or dead, with more than 600 confirmed victims last year alone. Survivors face “informal pushbacks,” as boats are bounced between Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, often under armed threat. Despite the UN’s High Seas Treaty coming into force in January 2026, fragmented sovereignty and rapid “reflagging” of vessels allow shipowners to escape accountability.

As the International Court of Justice pursues a genocide case against Myanmar, the Rohingya crisis at sea highlights a broader criminal architecture. Invisible fleets exploit legal loopholes, shadow states and digital silence to operate beyond the reach of law.

For those trapped aboard, every deactivated signal is more than a technical manoeuvre — it is a denial of humanity. Until the ghost fleet is confronted, the Andaman Sea will remain a corridor of impunity, where the movement of oil and people sustains both profit and persecution.

-2026-03-23