ANDAMAN SEA – The aid cargo for Rohingya in Myanmar will be transported by barge to Sittwe after being unloaded in Yangon, said mission organisers.
Organising committee head Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim said some 200 tonnes from the Malaysian ship Nautical Aliya would be carried there with another 300 tonnes of rice already in Myanmar.
“We will have two days to get a barge before we put the cargo on it for Sittwe,” he told The Star on board the ship.
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A Malaysian-led mission departed Port Klang on Feb 4 for Myanmar and Bangladesh with aid meant for Rohingyas in both countries.
It is carrying some 2,300 tonnes of aid and nearly 200 volunteers from 12 countries including Malaysia.
Thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar have fled their country with many facing alleged human rights abuses in recent years.
The items to be unloaded in Yangon include 50,000 large cartons of instant noodle packets, 12,000 mineral water bottles and 10,000 “hygiene kits”.
A closer look at these kits showed that it each had a towel, washing powder, diapers, toothbrushes, soap, a nail clipper and an ointment container, among others.
Another 200,000 pairs of slippers for adults would be unloaded in Yangon as well, said Abdul Azeez.
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He said it would be faster to take the aid there by barge, adding that it might take two days to get to Sittwe from Yangon by sea.
Sittwe is nearly 900km from Yangon.
The aid, said Abdul Azeez, would be given a “full escort” by Myanmar’s security forces.
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After this, the ship would make its way to Teknaf, Bangladesh, where the bulk of the aid cargo, about 2,100 tonnes, would be given out to thousands of Rohingya refugees in nearby camps.
Earlier, Abdul Azeez told reporters that strong currents and winds would delay the ship’s arrival in Yangon by at least a day.
The Nautical Aliya was scheduled to arrive in Yangon at 10.30pm tomorrow, but will now only reach it the day after at around 10.30am.
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As at about 1.30pm yesterday, the ship was about 46km southwest of the island of Ko Payang, Thailand.
