A court has fined a British luxury yacht builder for importing wood from Myanmar linked to the illegal timber trade, often referred to as blood teak.
Sunseeker International, based in Poole, Dorset, was fined £358,760 following a hearing at the Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday.
The case marks the first prosecution under the UK Timber Regulation (UKTR), a post-Brexit legislation that replaced the EU Timber Regulation. Sunseeker pleaded guilty to three charges, including failure to exercise due diligence in timber sourcing. The charges relate to 11 specific imports for which the company paid around £60,000.
International demand for Myanmar teak, prized for its water-resistant properties, has been a key revenue source for the country’s military junta, which seized power in February 2021.
Sanctions from the EU, UK and US on the ruling regime, which oversees the timber exports, have effectively made all teak imports from Myanmar illegal.
Judge Jonathan Fuller KC, while imposing fine, noted that Sunseeker was aware of the changes in timber import regulations after Brexit, which redefined the firm’s status from “trader” to “operator”. He labelled its actions a "systemic failure".
The judge ordered the company to pay a total of £358,759.64 covering a fine and prosecution costs.
Sunseeker International, in a statement to The Independent, attributed the “unintended failure” to “a change in legislation on 1 January 2021, following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union”, adding that Brexit imposed “additional due diligence obligations” when sourcing timber from the EU.
The company said it had “fully cooperated with the (Office for Product Safety and Standards) throughout its investigation, accepted responsibility at an early stage, and has taken decisive steps to rectify the issue, by implementing a robust timber procurement policy and a UKTR-compliant due diligence process”.
Sunseeker’s board expressed regret over the lapse, regretting the “company’s failure in meeting its responsibilities under the UKTR and underlines its ongoing commitment to compliance with laws and regulations”.
The Environmental Investigation Agency, a UK-based international NGO, hailed the court’s decision as a milestone in tackling illegal timber trade.
The group’s forests campaign leader, Faith Doherty, described the ruling as sending “a clear and unequivocal message” to other luxury yacht manufacturers worldwide.
“Using blood teak from conflict-torn Myanmar is totally unacceptable and will cost them dearly in the end,” she said.
Ms Doherty said the case should serve as a catalyst for further action, noting that timber traders have continued to flout the law without consequence. "This case changes that," she said. "It should be used as the landmark it is for actually using these laws with the appropriate penalties this crime deserves."
