JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Hours after reports emerged that the United States and Israel had launched coordinated strikes on Iran, motorists across Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces began lining up at fuel stations, fearing that the distant conflict could disrupt fuel supplies to the island nation, which remains heavily dependent on imported petroleum.
Long queues formed outside petrol sheds in Jaffna town by Saturday afternoon, with motorcycles, three-wheelers, and cars stretching for hundreds of meters along key roads. Similar scenes were reported in Batticaloa, Ampara, Mullaitivu, and Vavuniya, according to Jaffna Monitor correspondents in those districts, reflecting a widespread sense of anxiety in Tamil-majority regions that have historically been more vulnerable to supply disruptions.
Residents said memories of Sri Lanka’s crippling fuel shortages during the 2022 economic crisis remained fresh, when days-long queues and nationwide rationing brought daily life to a halt.
“We cannot take chances again,” said a motorcyclist waiting in line near Stanley Road in Jaffna. “It is better to stand in a queue and buy petrol now than to face hardship without it later,” he said.
Officials at the state-run petroleum distribution system, however, urged calm, describing the rush as unnecessary and driven largely by fear rather than actual shortages.
The Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, D. J. Rajakaruna, said fuel stocks in the country and shipments already in transit were sufficient for more than a month. He said petrol stocks would last for 37 days, auto diesel for 35 days, and jet fuel for 47 days.
Rajakaruna said authorities had received reports of panic buying in certain parts of the country following the escalation of the Iran conflict and urged the public not to panic, emphasizing that sufficient fuel stocks were available nationwide.
“This is a pattern we have seen before,” another official, who wished not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly, told Jaffna Monitor. “Panic buying itself can create shortages, even when supply is adequate.”
Sri Lanka imports nearly all of its petroleum, making it acutely sensitive to global geopolitical shocks, particularly conflicts involving major oil-producing regions or shipping routes. Analysts say that while immediate disruptions are not inevitable, public perception alone can trigger cascading effects in fragile economies still recovering from the crisis.
