Now Reading: Sri Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers off coast
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Sri Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers off coast
Sri Lankan maritime authorities are monitoring 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers hovering just outside the island's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters off the southern coast, a military official said Wednesday. The vessels cannot return…
Sri Lankan maritime authorities are monitoring 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers hovering just outside the island's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters off the southern coast, a military official said Wednesday. The vessels cannot return to Iran because of a US blockade on ships using Iranian ports. They have not sought permission to enter Sri Lankan waters and are exercising freedom of navigation in international waters.
Reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats are tracking the fleet near Galle harbour, where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 sailors from that vessel. Officials said there is no evidence of ship-to-ship oil transfers or pollution, so no legal basis for Sri Lankan action exists yet. Washington has not formally notified Colombo about the sanctioned vessels.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Sri Lanka's maritime surveillance of the 11 tankers follows a familiar pattern seen since US sanctions on Iran intensified in 2018. The vessels are effectively stranded because Iran's ports are blockaded by the US, and no neighbouring port will risk American secondary sanctions by accepting them. Colombo has no legal basis to act unless the tankers enter its 12-nautical-mile territorial waters or attempt a ship-to-ship transfer of oil, which would violate UN maritime conventions that Sri Lanka enforces. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard maintain their own monitoring of similar vessels near the Lakshadweep archipelago, given the risk of oil spills or illicit cargo diversion. The next trigger for action would be any change in the tankers' drift path toward Sri Lankan or Indian waters, or a formal US request for interdiction.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
