Rivers & Waterways

The Ayeyarwaddy river or Irrawaddy river is a river that flows through Myanmar. It is the country's largest river (about 1350 miles or 2170 km) and its most important waterway.

The Ayeyarwaddy river starts in the Kachin state, at the confluence of the Mali Hka and N'Mai Hka rivers. The western Mali Hka branch arises from the end of the Southern Himalayas, north of Putao.

The river bisects the country from north to south and empties though a nine armed delta into the Indian Ocean. In colonial times, before railways and automobiles, the river was known as the "Road to Mandalay".

Although navigable by large vessels to Myitkyina for a distance over 1600 km from the ocean, the river is also full of sandbanks and islands, making such navigation difficult.

For many years, the only bridge built to cross the Ayeyarwaddy river was the Innwa Bridge (aka Ava Bridge). Built in 1934 the bridge near Sagaing was the only bridge across the Ayeyarwaddy until 1998.

The Salween river also spelt Salwine rises in Tibet after which it flows through Yunnan (China), where it is known as Nujiang river, although either name can be used for the whole river. The river is 2815 km long.

It meanders through Myanmar (aka Thanlwin river) and Thailand on its way to emptying in the Andaman Sea by Mawlamyaing (Moulmein).

For most of its route the river is of little commercial value as it passes through deep gorges and is often called China's Grand Canyon. The Salween is only navigable for only 89 km from its mouth and then only in the summer rainy season.

The majority of imports and exports come through Yangon, mostly through the Yangon River (Hlaing River), which merges with the Ayeyarwaddy River (also known as the Irrawaddy River, the main river of Myanmar.

The Irrawaddy River is the backbone of Myanmar's transportation system. Trade in rice is dependent on water transport.

The Irrawaddy is navigable year-round up to Bhamo and to Myitkyina during the dry season when there are no rapids.

 The Chindwin river is navigable for some 500 miles from its confluence with the Irrawaddy below Mandalay. The many streams of the Irrawaddy delta are navigable, and there is a system of connecting canals.

The Sittang, in spite of its silt, is usable by smaller boats. Small steamers and country boats also serve the coasts of Arakan and Tenasserim.

Irrawaddy Flotilla Company

In 1865 the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company (IFC), which was Glasgow based and run by a man named Paddy Henderson, began services on the Irrawaddy River with four steamers and three cargo flats (barges)

In 1868 King Mindon (Mandalay) allowed services to the upper reaches, and by 1869 a service started to Bhamo. The fleet was built in Clyde, Scotland, dismantled, then shipped to Mandalay and re-erected. Indians from Chittagong manned the vessels, while the officers and master were primarily of Scottish descent.

In 1885, before the third Anglo-Burman War, the British commandeered the fleet. A 3km line of vessels stretched below the upper and lower Myanmar border at Minhla.

Some of the vessels, measuring 93m long with a 12m beam, a deck capacity of 3,000 passengers and cargo weighing 500 tons, took upper Myanmar in 1886.

The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company became 'the greatest river fleet on earth'. By 1930, there were 602 vessels carrying 9 million people.

The steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla came in various shapes and sizes. Amongst the biggest were the grand Main Line paddle steamers like the Mindoon built by Denny of Dumbarton in 1885 and 310ft in length.

This style of steamer generally had no bridge, the captain conning his ship from a position towards the bow on the main (lower) deck where the wheel was sited with the extended veranda above the captain's head reserved to give the best views of the river scenery to the first class passengers taking tea on deck.

A story is recorded that when a steamer bearing the first siren and beam lights pulled into a village in the mid-1880's, its entire population fled, returning days later to unload the cargo.

On April 28, 1942, following the Japanese invasion, Manager John Morton ordered the entire fleet to be scuttled, the thin steel hulls sunk by dynamite or machine gun.

In 1948 the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company became the Government Inland Water Transport Board. Their vessels still sport the black and white funnel of the former Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.

Functions of the Inland Water Transport Board

(i)                 Carry out transportation of passengers and freight along navigable waterways of the Ayeyarwady, Chindwin delta areas and also in Rakhine, Mon & Kayin states.

(ii)              To operate ferry services for passengers and vehicles

Ports in Myanmar

(i)                 Yangon – Medium sized port located on the Yangon river (Major imports and exports)

(ii)              Mawlamyaing (Moulmein) – Small sized port located in South Eastern Myanmar on the Gulf of Martaban (major port under British colonial rule)

(iii)            Pathein (Bassein) - Small size port located on the Pathein river

(iv)            Sittwe = Small size port located in South Western Myanmar on the Bay of Bengal

Other images

Twin screw Passenger	Raft of logs - Ayeyarwaddy	Ayeyarwaddy River	Ferry	Ferry	Ferry
Shallow draft triple Passenger	Karapara - Pre war Yangon Port	Shipping - Ayeyarwaddy	Public Transport	Ferry - Salween River	Ferry