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 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.
The report said that US officials had pressured Sri Lanka in recent weeks to prevent local companies from providing services to the tankers.
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, according to the report. Sri Lanka’s territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coast.
“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. Sri Lankan authorities have previously said the Iranian tankers were outside the country’s territorial waters and that Colombo was monitoring them.
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 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.
