Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday clarified that US secondary sanctions announced in August were part of a global policy and did not specifically target the island nation, amid media reports that Washington had warned Colombo against providing services to stranded Iranian tankers.
"The US has issued secondary sanctions as their own common policy perspective which is applying globally and do not target only Sri Lanka or any specific country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said.
The US measures announced on August 24 state that individuals or entities providing services to US-sanctioned vessels could risk losing access to the US financial system, Rodrigo said.
His remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that around 20 empty Iranian oil tankers were stranded about 24 kilometres off Sri Lanka's southwestern coast, with some facing shortages of food, fuel and fresh water.
The report said that US officials had pressured Sri Lanka in recent weeks to prevent local companies from providing services to the tankers.
According to the report, the US Embassy in Colombo had informed the Sri Lankan government in August that it was tracking 19 Iranian tankers off the country's western coast and warned that companies servicing sanctioned vessels could face US secondary sanctions.
{{/usCountry}}According to the report, the US Embassy in Colombo had informed the Sri Lankan government in August that it was tracking 19 Iranian tankers off the country's western coast and warned that companies servicing sanctioned vessels could face US secondary sanctions.
{{/usCountry}}Sri Lankan authorities have previously said the Iranian tankers were outside the country's territorial waters and that Colombo was monitoring them. Sri Lanka's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coast.
The US Embassy in Colombo earlier conducted a three-day training programme for more than 40 Sri Lankan officials on detecting and responding to maritime sanctions evasion.
The training, conducted from September 9 to 11, covered tactics used to conceal illicit maritime activity, including manipulation of vessel identification and other deceptive practices used in sanctions evasion.
The US Embassy had said the training was aimed at strengthening Sri Lanka's ability to detect and respond to maritime sanctions evasion that threatens US security interests and legitimate global commerce.
The tankers are part of a wider group of Iranian or Iran-linked vessels that had been involved in transporting sanctioned Iranian crude to Asian markets, particularly China. The US pressure campaign and renewed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted their movements, leaving some vessels stranded in Asian waters, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The vessels had previously transported Iranian crude to international waters near Malaysia, where the oil was transferred to other tankers before being taken to Chinese refineries, according to the report.
Sri Lankan shipping companies have reportedly faced difficulties in securing approval to provide food, fuel, fresh water and other services to the vessels amid concerns over possible US sanctions, it said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.