The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism has stated that the government has no intention of providing supplies or other facilities to Iranian vessels anchored near Sri Lanka. The reason cited is that these vessels are located outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
However, political analysts suggest that this decision is influenced by the strict sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran and entities dealing with sanctioned parties.
Thushara Rodrigo, Director General of the Public Diplomacy Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the vessels are anchored approximately 12 miles beyond Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. He further stated that the government has no plans to provide supplies or facilities to those vessels.
He made these remarks in response to international reports indicating that Iranian-owned and Iran-linked oil tankers were stranded in waters near Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia, following the intensification of sanctions imposed by Washington against Iran.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that approximately 20 Iranian oil tankers were stranded near Sri Lanka and Malaysia, with several facing shortages of essential supplies such as food, fuel, and clean drinking water. The newspaper further reported that US officials had pressured Sri Lanka to prevent local companies from supplying these sanctioned vessels, warning that failure to do so could result in secondary sanctions.