Sri Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian tankers

Sri Lanka is monitoring 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers off its southern coast, officials said Wednesday, while stressing that the vessels are in international waters.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said the ships were outside Sri Lanka's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters and were entitled to freedom of navigation.

“These ships are away from our territorial waters... we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.

A Sri Lankan military official told AFP on condition of anonymity that reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats had been deployed to monitor the vessels. The official said there was no indication of ship-to-ship oil transfer or illegal discharge of pollutants, giving Sri Lankan authorities no basis to act against them.

The tankers were spotted close to Galle harbour, where the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors.

Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade. Sri Lankan authorities said many Iranian merchant vessels had moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore because of US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels.