Dilrook Kannangara

Sri Lanka had at least four (4) petroleum ministers since 2010 and people voted all of them out. It is obviously telling. It is also important to put facts right and not be fooled by political sob stories said by these rejects. What really happened to the 99 tanks in Trinco tank farm?

It is a sad story of treason and lies.

India first made its intentions clear formally in 1987 when the Indo Lanka Peace Accord was signed that it was interested in Trinco tank farm of 99 tanks. Although previous gestures were made, they weren’t formal. However, nothing happened for another 25 years until 2002. In 2001 Sri Lanka suffered negative economic growth. During the India brokered sham ceasefire with the LTTE, India moved quickly to secure a lease of 14 tanks to an Indian owned company. Sri Lanka had the remaining 85 tanks. (Originally 100 tanks were there and one was destroyed by Japanese bombing in the 1940s in a desperate attempt to weaken Allied troops in the region.)

In 2022 January Sri Lanka was in a desperate economic situation. Sri Lanka had negative economic growth rates for 2020 and 2021 by then. In mid-January 2022 Sri Lanka paid its last repayment of ISB bond loans of $500 million which plunged its useable foreign reserves to zero and bankrupted it by April the same year. It was obvious known before this repayment that Sri Lanka would not have enough to pay for medicine, fuel and other essential imports. For this reason, on the first week of January of 2022 Sri Lanka leased a further 61 tanks to an Indian company. Although it was termed a joint venture between a private company owned by Sri Lanka’s CPC and Indian owned IOC company, in reality it was outright leasing out of these additional 61 tanks to India. The private company owned by CPC was only to have a nominal, non-voting interest of 51% percent. It comes into effect only if the venture makes profit and it was not meant to earn profits!

In addition to giving 61 more tanks to India in 2022 January making the Indian total to 75, Sri Lanka also agreed to give India full power and the power to veto Sri Lankan decisions that may be unfavorable to India in the use of all 99 tanks.

Although Sri Lanka did receive a fuel credit line (which must be repaid with interest) in 2022 January for the lease it was peanuts (just a $500 million loan) in comparison to the value and it quickly dried up within weeks. With no foreign currency reserves the island nation suffered severe fuel shortages and economic calamity.

On both occasions in 2002 and 2022 India exploited Sri Lanka’s economic misfortunes and leadership weakness to extract Trinco oil tank farm assets for peanuts. Both acts of treason in 2002 and January 2022 must be investigated and wrongdoers must be punished. Sadly, Sri Lanka cannot take back the tanks before the lease term expires due to the commercial nature of the lease agreements for which Sri Lanka received some consideration.