U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil extend to supply services, leaving 20 empty tankers stranded off Sri Lanka with dwindling provisions.
U.S. pressure targeting Iranian oil has extended to the supply services provided to ships. While approximately 20 empty Iranian tankers are waiting off the coast of Sri Lanka, reports indicate that fuel, food, and fresh water supplies are dwindling.
The U.S. maritime blockade and sanctions pressure on Iran is prolonging the wait for tankers that cannot return to Iranian ports after discharging their cargoes.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal dated October 1, approximately 20 empty Iranian tankers are waiting about 15 miles off the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, with their engines shut down. The ships are running low on food, fuel, and fresh water.
The newspaper, citing government documents and supply companies, stated that the U.S. has pressured Sri Lanka to prevent the refueling of the tankers. It was reported that countries and companies providing assistance to the ships are facing the threat of sanctions.
They discharged their cargoes but could not return to Iran.
The main reason for the tankers' wait is the disruption of the oil transportation cycle. Tankers carrying Iranian oil to Asia or transferring it from ship to ship cannot return to Iran to pick up new cargo after discharging their loads.
A report by The Maritime Executive dated September 2 indicated that ships, mostly discharging their cargoes in China, have been forced to wait at sea. It was noted that nearly all of the tankers off the coast of Sri Lanka are empty, as are many of those around Malaysia.
The same report mentioned that other tankers associated with Iranian oil trade have gathered at a ship-to-ship transfer area east of Johor, Malaysia. This area has long been used for transferring Iranian oil to other vessels.
On September 30, 20 tankers were identified one by one.
The monitoring report dated September 30 by United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which advocates for tightening sanctions against Iran, also noted that 20 empty Iranian-flagged tankers were found off the coast of Sri Lanka.
The report listed the names and IMO numbers of the vessels, including Dream II, Stream, Huge, Amber, Felicity, and Deep Sea.
According to UANI, most of these tankers began waiting around Sri Lanka after departing from the Galle anchorage on August 23. As of September 29, it was reported that many of the ships had moved to another anchorage area further north along the coast and were intermittently broadcasting their positions via AIS.
This number covers the empty Iranian-flagged tankers off the coast of Sri Lanka; Iranian-linked vessels around Malaysia are also being monitored.
Sri Lanka had announced it was monitoring the ships.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath stated on September 8 that 47 ships were being monitored around the country, and not all of them were Iranian.
Herath mentioned that the Iranian ships were located outside Sri Lankan territorial waters and that the government had not received any requests or granted permission for these vessels to enter the country's waters.
The minister also explained that the U.S. Embassy in Colombo had informed the Foreign Ministry about the presence of Iranian vessels and inquired whether the ships were being monitored. Following this, the Ministries of Defense and Ports were informed.
Supply companies are also facing the risk of sanctions.
Pressure on supply services had also been highlighted in Sri Lankan media in August.
In a news article dated August 23 by The Morning, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, the Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, acknowledged that private companies servicing sanctioned vessels and the banks facilitating these transactions could face U.S. sanctions.
The report noted that the Amber tanker arrived off Galle on July 16. UANI advisor Charlie Brown stated that the tankers should normally return to Iran after transferring oil around Malaysia but are waiting due to the blockade.
The blockade also prevents the reloading of oil.
A Reuters investigation dated September 1 revealed the disruption in the transportation chain of Iranian oil following the reimplementation of the blockade by the U.S. on July 14.
The report, based on data from Kpler, Vortexa, and TankerTrackers.com, indicated that new loads of Iranian crude oil had not been able to reach China through the Strait of Hormuz from that date until the beginning of September. It was noted that Iran continues to sell oil stored in floating depots in Asia but cannot replenish these stocks with new shipments.
Claire Jungman, an analyst at Vortexa, told Reuters that at that time, 27 sanctioned tankers associated with Iranian oil trade were waiting in ballast off the coast of Sri Lanka. This figure reflects the observation as of early September.
The wait that began with the inability of the ships to return after discharging their cargoes has now been compounded by difficulties in fuel and provisions supply.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
