U.S. Embassy Strengthens Sri Lanka’s Ability to Detect Maritime Sanctions Evasion

COLOMBO, September 25, 2026: The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, through the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction and in partnership with the Atlantic Council, conducted a three-day training September 9–11 in Colombo to strengthen Sri Lanka’s ability to detect and respond to maritime sanctions evasion that threatens U.S. security interests and legitimate global commerce.  

 More than 40 officials from the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Regulatory Council, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Coast Guard, Merchant Shipping Secretariat, Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Ministry of Defense, and Sri Lanka Navy built proficiency in using tools to identify suspicious vessels and deceptive shipping practices, assess sanctions and proliferation risks, and strengthen interagency coordination when potentially illicit maritime activity is detected in or near Sri Lankan waters. 

“Sri Lanka sits at a strategic crossroads for global commerce, bringing both tremendous opportunity and the need for vigilance,” said U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Eric Meyer. “As sanctions-evasion networks increasingly exploit commercial shipping, the United States is taking decisive action to counter these networks and sharing U.S. expertise with our Sri Lankan partners to protect legitimate trade, secure critical waters, and strengthen regional security.” 

Through presentations and tabletop exercises led by sanctions and maritime security experts from the Atlantic Council, participants examined tactics used to conceal illicit maritime activity, including manipulation of vessel identification and tracking information, opaque ownership structures, ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documentation, and other deceptive practices designed to obscure a vessel’s identity, ownership, cargo, origin, or destination. 

Participants were also briefed on the risks facing shipping agents, bunkering (fuel) providers, and other service providers that knowingly or unknowingly support sanctioned vessels. The United States has previously designated entities—including brokers, fuel suppliers, and cargo certifiers—for facilitating the operations of sanctioned vessels, underscoring that providing services such as fuel, food, or provisions to a sanctioned vessel can expose companies and individuals to U.S. sanctions risk, including potential civil or criminal penalties.

The workshop addressed U.S. sanctions and applicable United Nations Security Council sanctions, giving participants practical experience identifying warning signs, conducting due diligence on vessels and associated entities, assessing financial and proliferation risks, and coordinating responses across Sri Lankan government agencies.  

Sanctions-evasion networks increasingly rely on complex international shipping and financial structures to disguise illicit activity and exploit legitimate commerce.  As a major Indian Ocean transshipment hub, Sri Lanka’s ability to secure its ports and waters against illicit maritime activity is critical to legitimate trade, and U.S.-Sri Lankan cooperation is helping strengthen that security across the region. 

U.S. experts lead a discussion on interagency coordination and maritime sanctions enforcement during a U.S. Embassy-supported workshop in Sri Lanka.  

U.S. experts and Sri Lankan participants gather at the conclusion of a three-day workshop on strengthening maritime sanctions compliance and countering sanctions evasion networks in the Indian Ocean, held September 9–11, 2026.