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UPI ID : enb@axis.com
UPI ID : enb@axis.com
Frantic fuel hunt as threat of power crisis looms largeIran offers oil to Lanka while countering narrative on torpedoed ship; Govt. avoids being drawn into fresh controversy Energy talks with Russian delegation; logistics issues and fears of US retaliation hamper progress As bungling in coal purchase aggravates power situation, Minister admits importing low‑grade coal but warns of repercussions if supplier is sued By our ST Political Desk 29-03-2026On the international front, the National People’s Power (NPP) government is trying hard to walk the tightrope of neutrality and avoid getting drawn into any fresh controversy over the fate of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena, which was sunk in a US submarine torpedo attack on March 4 in the seas off Galle.The government has avoided commenting further on the matter, particularly after the Iranian ambassador Alireza Delkhosh, who addressed the media on Monday, claimed that the Iranian vessels had been heading toward Colombo on the invitation of the Sri Lankan authorities after their participation at MILAN 2026, the Indian Navy’s premier multilateral maritime exercise, held at Visakhapatnam from February 15 to 25.“It was not here for war. It participated in a peaceful exercise in India. In India, this vessel, along with two other vessels, was invited by the Sri Lankan government to come here. They came here upon invitation. They didn’t receive any alert in advance from the United States,” the ambassador said.However, according to senior government sources, there had been no formal invitation extended to the Iranian ships to visit Colombo on their return journey. They said that two Sri Lankan Navy ships, SLNS Sagara and SLNS Nandimitra, also participated in the naval exercise with the Commander of the SL Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, attending at the invitation of the Chief of Staff of Naval Staff of India, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi. During the visit, the Navy Commander engaged in bilateral discussions with representatives of countries attending the naval exercise, including the Iranian attendees, where, as a matter of courtesy, an invitation was extended for them to make a port call in Colombo.“While such invitations are extended routinely, there was no formal invitation extended for the ships to dock here. Clearance for foreign vessels visiting takes at least 14 days, as they have to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Defence Ministry, as well as the Port Authority. Hence, it’s a long process and cannot be done in a hurry,” government sources said.They maintain that the request for the Iranian ships to visit Sri Lanka from March 9 to 13 was made by the Iranian authorities on February 26, two days before Iran was attacked on February 28. The government was processing the request when the IRIS Dena was sunk.Iran's Ambassador Alireza Delkhosh explaining a point during the press conference on Monday at his residence in Colombo. Pic by Indika handuwalaThe government has officially refused to get drawn into a debate on the Iranian ambassador’s claims. Minister and Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa avoided responding to the matter at this week’s cabinet briefing.Meanwhile, the fate of the other 251 Iranian sailors remaining in Sri Lanka continues to be a matter of discussion. The Iranian ambassador said they are in talks with the government to have the men repatriated, but the government maintains that it will act in accordance with the internationally laid-out rules and handle their return according to international humanitarian laws.Despite the different stances taken by the two countries regarding the Iranian ships, the Iranian ambassador thanked the Sri Lankan government for the hospitality extended to the rescued sailors. “Right now they are here. The Sri Lankan government is very hospitable. We don’t have any issues. We are working to take them to their families as soon as possible,” he said.Ambassador Delkhosh also pledged Iranian assistance for Sri Lanka to secure fuel. “Iran is always ready to provide all necessities to friendly countries like Sri Lanka. If Sri Lanka requests oil or any other necessary goods, Iran will supply and provide these goods to Sri Lanka. We don’t want to see Sri Lanka in trouble,” he said. While thanking the Iranian ambassador for the offer, Cabinet spokesman Jayatissa told the media on Tuesday that Sri Lanka does not have the ships necessary to transport the oil.Talks with RussiaAs the conflict in West Asia enters the second month, securing adequate fuel stocks is the priority for the government. This week a Russian delegation led by Deputy Energy Minister Roman Marshavin arrived in the country for talks on energy cooperation between the two countries. Along with Russian Ambassador L. Dzhagaryan, he met President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and discussed enhancing cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia, especially potential partnerships in fuel supply and energy security. Others present during the meeting included Vladimir Khazov, Director of the Department for International Cooperation, Ministry of Energy of Russia, and Sergey Rodin, Deputy Head of the Department for Commercial Development of Mineral Oil-Related Services Projects.Discussions were also held with other Sri Lankan officials, including Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody; Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando; Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe; Treasury Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma; and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman Janaka Rajakaruna.Even though the Russian side had agreed to supply oil to Sri Lanka, there were many logistical issues that would impede the delivery of Russian oil in the short term. On March 12, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian oil. The temporary 30-day waiver allows countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea. Russian oil shipments have faced widespread sanctions from Western nations since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US issued its temporary waiver on Russian oil shipments earlier this month in an effort to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the Iran war. The temporary waiver expires on April 11.Government sources noted that even if talks are successful, it would be extremely challenging for Sri Lanka to obtain Russian oil shipments before the expiration of the April 11 deadline. This difficulty had been explained to the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, when he visited Sri Lanka last week. Accordingly, Sri Lanka has inquired from the US about the possibility of extending the 30-day waiver on sanctioned Russian oil to three months. It is uncertain if such an extension is possible given that even the 30-day temporary waiver has come in for intense criticism from leaders in Europe and Canada, as well as bipartisan criticism from both Republican and Democrat lawmakers in the US, who say the easing of these sanctions is helping Russia finance its war in Ukraine.Government sources admitted that it is unclear if there will be any extension of the temporary waiver. If the sanctions are abruptly reimposed, any oil deal with Russia would be in jeopardy. Securing a ship to take delivery of oil also remains challenging at the moment, the sources said.Sources further pointed out that the government cannot explore obtaining Russian oil once the waiver period expires. The economic fallout would be far more damaging given that about 25 per cent of Sri Lanka’s exports, mostly apparel, go to the US, and the Trump administration would surely respond with punitive measures if the government were to continue efforts to secure Russian oil once the waiver expires. Sri Lanka also does not possess a fleet of tankers or a specialised insurance mechanism required to transport sanctioned Russian crude oil. While Russia is willing to sell, the cost of leasing tankers from third parties has risen by about 1000 per cent due to the West Asian conflict. Many tankers capable of transporting oil are currently stuck on either side of the Strait of Hormuz due to threats of Iranian attacks along the channel.Indian suppliesThere was some reassurance for the government from India that it would assist the country as the impact of the West Asia war begins to take its toll. The Indian assurances came during a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Dissanayake on Tuesday. A day earlier, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had a phone conversation with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.Taking to his X account following the conversation, Premier Modi posted that they discussed the evolving situation in West Asia, with particular focus on disruptions affecting global energy security.“We reviewed progress on key initiatives aimed at strengthening India-Sri Lanka energy cooperation and enhancing regional security. As close and trusted partners, we reaffirmed our commitment to work closely together in addressing shared challenges,” said Mr Modi.Following these developments, an Indian shipment of 38,000 MT of petroleum products—20,000 MT of diesel and 18,000 MT of petrol—arrived in Colombo yesterday.Lanka IOC had earlier secured fuel supplies for March from West Asia, the Gulf, and Singapore. However, suppliers with whom the contracts were placed expressed their inability to deliver the product and invoked force majeure (a contractual provision that frees parties from liability when an extraordinary, unforeseeable event occurs) in view of supply disruptions and vessel unavailability due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Indian High Commission explained in a statement yesterday.“Due to the above disruptions, rescue supplies were requested from India from Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The current shipment of 38,000 MT is part of these supplies. The Government of India, through Lanka IOC, has extended support to Sri Lanka for maintaining continuity of fuel supply,” the statement added.As the war completes one month, more governments around the world are scrambling to secure fuel and gas supplies for their countries. While taking such measures, these countries are also taking steps to conserve their fuel, gas and other energy reserves. Sri Lanka is no exception. This week was the second straight week that the country implemented a four-day work week, with Wednesday being a holiday for the public sector to conserve fuel. Rationing of fuel is continuing, though the quota for all motor vehicles has now been increased. Last Sunday also saw the second fuel price hike for March—the second being by far the highest since the present government came to office.Speaking on grounds of anonymity, a senior Energy Ministry official confirmed that the government is negotiating with India regarding fuel supplies. “We have sent the Indians a detailed report of our fuel needs, but we must be mindful that India is also struggling with its own problems when it comes to fuel and gas,” the official pointed out. The main concern for the government is that the private sector fuel suppliers, namely LIOC, Sinopec and R.M. Parks – which account for 43 per cent of the market share – have reduced distribution to their fuel stations. He claimed the companies want prices of fuel to be raised even further, adding that the reduction in distribution has resulted in fuel stations of these companies being closed due to non-availability of fuel. This creates an additional burden for the CPC as motorists are turning to these fuel stations to fill their tanks.The fuel shipments Sri Lanka has ordered for April are expected to arrive as scheduled, as these shipments have been confirmed, the source added. “Nevertheless, due to the limited capacity of our storage spaces, we can’t turn to other sources to order fuel supplies aside from the suppliers who have confirmed orders to us.”Coal blunderThe difficulty of obtaining fuel is also adding further pressure on efforts to continue uninterrupted electricity supplies amidst threats of a full-blown power crisis, largely due to the government bungling the tender to supply coal to the Lakvijaya power plant in Norochcholai. The low-grade South African coal provided by India’s Trident Chemphar, which had won the contract to supply 25 shipments for Lakvijaya, has resulted in the 900MW power plant generating well below the required power output. This, coupled with the limitations in hydropower owing to the prevailing dry weather conditions, has forced the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to increasingly turn to diesel-powered thermal power plants. The situation has also resulted in the government having to purchase one diesel shipment and one crude oil shipment exclusively for the use of thermal power plants, the official revealed.There was also a public acknowledgement this week from the government that it is in a real quandary with regard to coal power supplies. This came by way of public comments delivered by Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake. Addressing a public event, Mr Rathnayake admitted that the coal was of low grade but claimed the government had limited options given that if the government sues the coal supplier and manages to legally secure heavy fines, it may come to a situation where the supplier could declare bankruptcy, and this would seriously affect the coal supply. The minister continued to insist that there had been no corruption in the procurement process but that laboratory tests had concluded that the coal was substandard, for which the company had been fined about USD 2 million. “We can’t haggle over coal like we would for bread from different vendors. Even if this coal is well below standard, we can’t go to another vendor now. These orders must be placed months in advance, and they have to be brought here and stored. The real issue is that the electricity generated by this stock of coal is below the required output. That is not the government’s fault. It is the fault of the company,” the minister asserted. “I’m not justifying the mistake, but we don’t have a surplus of anything,” he added.Energy crisis: countermeasuresFears that the crisis will make scheduled power cuts inevitable as soon as next month (April) have now driven the government to take a series of measures aimed at conserving power. On Monday, Essential Services Commissioner General Prabath Chandrakeerthi issued guidelines to government institutions stipulating a series of measures to conserve fuel and energy. The measures include encouraging employees to take public transport or utilise carpooling rather than commuting to work in individual vehicles. Institutions have also been instructed to prepare daily transport plans to minimise the number of vehicles used for field work.Public institutions have also been instructed to use natural lighting, reduce reliance on air conditioning by using electric fans, and limit the use of elevators by encouraging stair use. Meanwhile, local government authorities have been instructed to switch off streetlights when unnecessary and to temporarily turn off street lamps in roads other than those situated in high-security zones.The Cabinet has also established four subcommittees to take appropriate measures by assessing the impact of the West Asian conflict on Sri Lanka’s economy and daily life.The Energy Committee, chaired by Minister Vijitha Herath, has been formed to handle procurement for emergency purchases to maintain stable supplies of fuel, gas, and coal and to identify new supply sources and suppliers. A committee chaired by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has been tasked with making swift decisions to maintain a continuous, efficient, and systematic public service while sustaining economic activities and essential public services. Another committee, headed by Minister Bimal Rathnayake, aims to ensure the continuous operation of state and private supply chains for essential goods to prevent market shortages. Finally, a committee chaired by Minister Upali Pannilage was appointed to identify issues affecting daily life and respond promptly through coordination with relevant agencies.Separately, the Cabinet this week also approved a proposal of President Dissanayake to appoint an expert committee, chaired by Dr Hans Wijesuriya, to develop the energy economy.Parallel to such measures in public institutions and at the cabinet level, the government has also decided to launch a campaign urging the public to use energy, including electricity, sparingly.The initiative aims to educate the public on the severity of the potential energy crisis and encourage them to adopt energy-saving methods—specifically by switching off unnecessary electrical appliances and practising proper energy management between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm.The effort aims to involve every citizen and is to be spread across all sectors. The government aims to reduce the load on the national grid by 20-25 per cent through these measures. The publicity campaign is to involve both state and private media, as well as social media, alongside village-level awareness programmes and leaflet distribution, according to government sources.The almost frantic pace of the initiatives that have been announced indicates that there is growing alarm within the government that the power crisis it had been repeatedly denying would occur is now more than a distinct possibility but a clear, present danger that’s mere weeks away if prompt measures are not taken. The government has assured uninterrupted electricity for the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year period. Whether such assurances can be provided for beyond this period is now the question. Opposition politicians and even some power sector experts are claiming that the CEB will have no alternative but to impose scheduled power cuts if more coal shipments are found to be substandard and if the war in West Asia escalates further in the coming weeks.Energy minister in the dockWhile widespread measures aimed at conserving fuel and electricity are taking place, the man in charge of the sector is facing problems outside the sector as well. On Friday, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) served indictments on Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody before the Colombo High Court over alleged corruption. Minister Jayakody is accused of committing financial irregularity whilst he was serving as the procurement manager of the Lanka Fertiliser Company in 2016. He has been charged with causing a loss of more than Rs 8.8 million to the state through his alleged actions of allowing a contracted private company to make undue financial profits. The minister was released on two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each after indictments were served, and the pre-trial conference of the case has been scheduled for May 6.The opposition has called for Mr Jayakody to step down from his position as Energy Minister over the indictment, as well as his role in the bungled coal tender. A No-Confidence Motion (NCM) on Energy Minister Jayakody is to be taken up for debate in Parliament on April 10.Mr Jayakody is the first MP from the ruling NPP to be indicted for corruption. Many in the government have been quick to point out that the alleged offence had occurred more than a decade ago. They have also rallied around the minister, and as things stand now, they are poised to vote to defeat the NCM against him when it comes up for debate. An opposition MP asked why the double standards; opposition members accused of corruption are taken to court and remanded pending indictment, but Minister Jayakody is indicted directly in court with no remand route for him.There have been some other noteworthy developments in court this week. Main among them is the Supreme Court judgement that found former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and several other former health sector officials had violated the fundamental rights of the public by purchasing medical supplies from an unregistered company through an unsolicited proposal in 2022, bypassing established legal and regulatory safeguards. The Supreme Court ordered Mr Rambukwella to pay Rs 75 million to the state while other former health officials were ordered to each pay Rs 50 million (See story on our news pages).There were also more developments concerning the arrest of the former head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retd) Suresh Sallay. The Colombo Fort Magistrate this week ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to produce Mr Sallay before the court on April 22. He had earlier been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital due to an illness related to his ear. He is currently being detained under a 90-day detention order in connection with an ongoing investigation by the CID into the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks. Colombo Fort Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara also rejected a request made by Mr Sallay’s lawyers to remove the Easter Sunday attack investigation from the supervision of CID Director Shani Abeysekara.Another case that drew plenty of attention was the writ petition filed before the Court of Appeal by the Deputy Secretary General of Parliament and its Chief of Staff, Chaminda Kularatne, challenging the decision of Parliament’s Staff Advisory Committee headed by Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne to suspend him.Mr Kularatne claims that Speaker Wickramaratne suspended him illegally by assuming powers he does not possess, allegedly driven by personal malice stemming from various incidents. The petition seeks to overturn the suspension and reinstate the Deputy Secretary General to his post.When the case was taken up on Friday, President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena, appearing for the petitioner, stated that the case had been called that day to consider a settlement following a notification by the Attorney General.State Counsel Abigail Jayakody, appearing for the AG, however, informed the Court of Appeal that the AG will no longer represent the second respondent, viz., the Speaker. While the Attorney General appeared for the Speaker during the previous two hearings, the Speaker has now sought private legal counsel. The AG is also not appearing for other government representatives in this case, including House Leader Bimal Rathnayake and Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando.The court ordered that any limited objections to the petition must be filed by April 20, with counter-objections to be submitted by 26 May 2026.Hormuz closure’s impact on food security and public welfare: Report says Lanka among worst‑affected nationsSri Lanka is among the countries to be worst affected with increased food prices and welfare losses under a short-run full closure scenario of the Strait of Hormuz, the Kiel Institute, Europe’s pre-eminent research institute for global economic affairs, said in a report this week.The report said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amplifies the impact on countries that rely on imported inputs, particularly in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of the Middle East.“For example, under a short-run full closure scenario of the Strait of Hormuz, food prices in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India could rise by about 10–15%, with higher increases possible. Welfare losses in these three countries are estimated to be between −3.5% and −1.8%. More broadly, welfare losses in these regions are estimated to be 10–20 times larger than in advanced economies, except in the case of oil-exporting countries,” the report said.For comparison, welfare effects in the European Union range only between −0.76% and −0.36%, while in the United States they are even smaller, ranging from −0.16% to −0.04%.The report said the timing of the disruption makes the situation especially acute.” March and April are peak months for fertiliser application in the Northern Hemisphere planting season. Although some market adjustment may occur over time, structural damage to supply chains and agricultural production is likely to persist.”It added that the Hormuz disruption is not only an energy shock but also a manufacturing and food security crisis. “Strategic fertiliser reserves in import-dependent countries, alongside stronger international mechanisms for rapid fertiliser and food aid deployment, could help mitigate future shocks. At the same time, reducing dependence on Gulf energy and energy-intensive imports through diversification, renewable investment, and efficiency gains remains the most effective long-term response.”
WSJ 27-03-2026
மோடி-இஸ்ரேல் ENB சுவரொட்டிபோலிச்சுதந்திரம் ENB சுவரொட்டி
