Sri Lanka is set to receive two additional fuel shipments tomorrow (10) and the day after (11), according to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

According to the state newspaper Dinamina, CPC Managing Director Mayura Neththikumarage said a ship transporting 7,000 metric tons of Octane 95 petrol and 29,000 metric tons of Octane 92 petrol is expected to dock tomorrow (10).

He further said that another vessel carrying 28,000 metric tons of diesel from Singapore is scheduled to arrive on Thursday (11). 

Meanwhile, a separate vessel carrying 32,000 metric tons of diesel and 7,200 metric tons of super diesel is currently unloading its cargo at the Colombo Port. (Newswire)

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The Lanka Petroleum Storage Terminals Company has confirmed that the first crude oil vessel to arrive in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict is scheduled to dock tomorrow (17).

Managing Director Mayura Netthikumara said the vessel will deliver 97,500 metric tons of crude oil, marking a significant step in stabilizing the country’s energy supply. 

He added that another shipment is expected towards the end of the month, while a WTI vessel is expected to set sail from the USA within today. 

Netthikumara noted that these arrivals effectively resolve the crude oil supply challenges that had troubled the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in recent weeks.

On Wednesday (15), a separate fuel vessel carrying 36,000 metric tons reached the island, ensuring that fuel stocks will last until mid‑June, he further said.

He added that the upcoming shipments will strengthen reserves and provide greater stability in the domestic energy market. (Newswire)

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Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai port’s anchorage, with the strike damaging the vessel’s hull and raising concerns about a possible oil spill.

Dubai authorities said the drone attack caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. The attack came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the strait of Hormuz.

The strike on the Al Salmi tanker is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran last month. The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said the Al Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel. It warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reported.

Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was sparked by a drone attack and continued to assess the situation, adding that no injuries were reported and all 24 crew members were safe.

Crude oil prices briefly spiked after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices, but retreated slightly after the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump had told aides he was willing to end the war even if the strait of Hormuz remains closed and that military options were “not his immediate priority”.

Brent crude prices are on course for a 59% surge in March, the largest monthly gain on record due to the war in the Middle East.

The jump in oil and fuel prices has started to weigh on US household finances and become a political headache for Trump and his Republican party ahead of the November midterm elections, having vowed to lower energy prices and ramp up US oil and gas production.

In Dubai, work is under way to assess damage to the tanker, said company KPC. It was loaded with 2m barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to data from industry trackers. Its destination was listed as Qingdao, China, according to reports.

Attacks by both sides of the conflict are showing no signs of easing, with fears of a wider conflict growing.

Thousands of soldiers from the US army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before the 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. (The Guardian / Reuters)

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a Togo-flagged tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil, with crew members of Sri Lankan origin, last week. 

British security firm Ambrey said last Monday the vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE’s Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran’s port of Bushehr.

The Navy confirmed the seizure in a statement quoted by Iran’s state news agency, saying: “The tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling … and was seized in the depths of Bushehr’s coast by judicial order.”

“The vessel, along with its 12 crew members of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals, has been transferred to Bushehr anchorage and is under supervision,” it added.

Fuel prices in Iran are among the lowest globally, increasing the profitability of smuggling operations.

However, experts previously said that Iran’s circumvention of oil sanctions is among the main reasons for the worsening phenomenon of fuel smuggling.

Iran’s Nour News Agency said last December that fuel smuggling was estimated at 20 million litres per day, equivalent to $5 billion. (Newswire/ Aawsat)

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An oil tanker has capsized off the coast of Oman on Monday, with 16 crew members onboard, including three Sri Lankans, according to the Sultanate’s Maritime Security Centre (MSC).

The Omani Maritime Security Centre reported that a search and rescue operation is currently underway, though the cause of the capsize was not detailed. 

In a post on the social media platform X, the MSC stated, “A Comoros-flagged oil tanker capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah, near the port town of Duqm on Monday.”

The Gulf Insider identified the vessel as ‘Prestige Falcon,’ noting it had 16 crew members onboard, including 13 Indians and three Sri Lankans. “The crew of the ship are still missing,” it added, as the search operation continues. 

The vessel was reportedly en route to the Yemeni port city of Aden. (Newswire)

Updates regarding the recent capsizing incident of the Comoros flagged oil tanker southeast of Ras Madrakah pic.twitter.com/PxVLxlTQGD

— مركز الأمن البحري| MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE (@OMAN_MSC) July 16, 2024

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