Arakan News Agency
The Rohingya aid ship will stop at Chittagong port in Bangladesh after its government refused to let it dock in Teknaf, which is closer to the Myanmar border.
The organisers hoped that Bangladesh would provide visas to the 185 passengers, mostly volunteers, on board the ship upon arrival at Chittagong.
Chittagong is about 200km away from Teknaf, and takes about four hours to get there over land.
Putera 1Malaysia Club president Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, who is leading the aid mission said they had not obtained the visas yet, but still had five days to get them.
The vessel, the Nautical Aliya, is now on its way to Myanmar’s capital Yangon.
It will then sail to Chittagong and is expected to arrive on Feb 12.
Azeez said he expects the ship to enter Myanmar waters at about 9.30pm Wednesday.
However, it can only dock on Thursday morning when the tide returns.
The ship is carrying some 2,300 tonnes of aid meant for the Rohingyas in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Thousands of Rohingya have fled alleged human rights abuses in Myanmar.
The organisers were informed on Tuesday that the ship would not be allowed to enter Teknaf – where some Rohingya refugee camps are located.
They were told they could offload the cargo at Chittagong port, Kutubdia or Saint Martin’s Island instead.
