Luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker has pleaded guilty to violating a U.S. environmental law by using illegally sourced teak from Myanmar on two of its yachts imported into the U.S.
The U.K.-based Sunseeker International Limited, which describes itself as “the world’s leading brand for luxury motor yachts,” along with its U.S. subsidiary pleaded guilty on May 13, 2026, to violating the U.S. Lacey Act. The regulation prohibits trade in wildlife and plant products, including timber, that have been sourced in violation of domestic or foreign laws.
Sunseeker had not responded to Mongabay’s request for comment at the time of publishing.
As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Sunseeker agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and implement a compliance plan.
The U.S. DOJ said in a news release that illegally sourced timber was identified in components of two yachts priced at approximately $2.98 million and $1.07 million, respectively. The company is scheduled for sentencing in the U.S. on Aug. 20, 2026.
Sunseeker, which manufactures its yachts in the U.K., previously pled guilty to violating the U.K. Timber Regulation in a U.K. court in 2024. The company was accused of using illegally obtained teak in its yachts. It was fined 358,759.64 pounds (about $454,300) for 11 specific timber exports, according to previous Mongabay reporting.
U.S. authorities noted the teak imported into the country originated from the same illegal imports prosecuted in the U.K.
While highly prized in the luxury yacht industry, much of the teak from Myanmar, also called Burmese teak, is dubbed “blood timber,” Mongabay previously reported. Components of the teak trade in the country have links to illegal logging, smuggling and revenue flowing to the Myanmar military junta, said Faith Doherty, forests campaign leader at the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Since the military coup in 2021, the junta has been linked to widespread human rights atrocities and violence against civilians, leading the U.S., U.K., and EU to impose sanctions on Myanmar’s timber sector.
The EIA first flagged Sunseeker’s supply chain risks in 2018.
Doherty told Mongabay the cases against Sunseeker matter, because Burmese teak is an issue involving the environment, conflict, corruption, human rights and corporate responsibility. However, she called the fines imposed “small compared with the value of luxury yachts and the profits attached to Burmese teak.”
“Without tougher penalties, seizure risks, and director-level accountability and reputational consequences, some companies may still treat fines as a cost of doing business rather than a reason to change,” she said.
Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar, welcomed the U.S. prosecution, but called for all companies and governments to ban Myanmar timber imports.
“The teak trade has long fueled violence and forest destruction in Myanmar,” Maung told Mongabay.
Banner image of Myanmar teak courtesy of EIA.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Mongabay, and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
