Myanmar Disguised Iranian Jet Fuel As South African Diesel

Myanmar disguised Iranian jet fuel imports as South African diesel through false sales contracts and import paperwork to circumvent U.S. sanctions, Reuters reports.

Documents reviewed by the news agency show how Myanmar broker Dynamic Wave arranged purchases through Thailand’s Tawan-Oil Trading while tankers brought aviation fuel from Iran.

One shipment reached Myanmar in December 2025 aboard Reef, a U.S.-sanctioned tanker carrying about 113,000 barrels. A $15.8 million contract described the purchase as South African diesel.

Trade records from the United Nations and shipping data provider Vortexa showed no diesel trade between South Africa and Myanmar that year.

Shipment records and satellite analysis by SynMax Intelligence instead traced the cargo to Iran’s Bandar Abbas.

Regulator Approved False Labels

Myanmar’s foreign exchange regulator explicitly authorized the substitution in the import paperwork.

In a November 30 letter reviewed by Reuters, the agency told Dynamic Wave’s client that documentation would identify the cargo as diesel “instead of jet fuel.”

The letter also approved payment to Tawan by Dynamic Wave and National Energy Prime Aviation Services Company, its client, which is partly owned by Myanmar’s military-backed government.

It gave no reason for changing the fuel description.

The U.S. targeted Myanmar’s aviation fuel industry with sanctions in 2023, citing military airstrikes against civilians. Buyers of Iranian petroleum products also face broad U.S. sanctions.

Iran was the Myanmar military’s leading jet fuel supplier from October 2024 through December 2025, Reuters previously reported.

Reef, subsequently renamed Maris, and another tanker, Noble, handled much of that trade.

Earlier Cargo Followed Similar Pattern

A second contract points to an earlier shipment using the same diesel cover.

In May 2025, Dynamic Wave agreed to purchase 202,000 barrels of purported South African diesel from Tawan for $26 million, with delivery to Yangon required within a month.

The invoice listed a fuel density consistent with aviation fuel rather than diesel marketed in Southeast Asia, according to Washington State University specialist Joshua Heyne and specifications from Platts.

The price also exceeded a global diesel benchmark by more than 50%.

Noble arrived in Yangon on June 17 with nearly 200,000 barrels of jet fuel allocated to Dynamic Wave, shipment records showed.

SynMax traced that cargo to Bandar Abbas using satellite imagery. During the voyage, the tanker broadcast signals indicating it was heading to Bangladesh’s Chittagong port.

Thai Bank Account Named

Both contracts directed payment to Tawan’s account at Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand. Reuters could not establish whether the bank knew the nature of Tawan’s business.

UN experts identified Tawan as a supplier of aviation fuel to Myanmar’s military in 2024 and described SCB as a significant facilitator of military procurement.

SCB said after that report that its Myanmar transactions were lawful, complied with anti-money-laundering requirements and had no connection to weapons trading.

The bank, Tawan and Thailand’s central bank did not answer Reuters’ questions about the transactions. Dynamic Wave, its client, Myanmar authorities, Iran’s foreign ministry and the tankers’ manager also did not respond.

Justice for Myanmar supplied the contracts and regulatory letter, saying it obtained them from a junta-controlled server briefly accessible to the public.

Reuters found a dead search-engine link to one document and matched delivery details against separate shipment records.

The UN said in August that military air attacks had killed thousands, including civilians, during the civil war following the 2021 coup.

Myanmar’s foreign ministry said the military “exercises maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm.”

Iranian jet fuel deliveries continued this year, according to Reuters reporting in October based on satellite imagery and SynMax analysis.