---

Lanka Marine Services Ltd (LMS) has said that it will continue to provide customers with marine fuel and lubricants from next week through a combination of floating storage and use of the shared storage facility operated by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

In a stock exchange filing yesterday John Keells Holdings, owner of LMS, said "LMS will also continue to provide bonded storage and delivery services of marine lubricants on behalf of the many global lubricant manufacturers represented by them.

"By next week, LMS will be providing its customers with all grades of bunker fuels as in the past using a combination of floating storage and the proposed shared land storage facility to be run by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

"The company has engaged a tanker on a long term charter for procurement and storage of bunker fuels."

LMS says it has deposited 153 million rupees (US$1.44 million) into a separate bank account as compensation payment to workers and in line with the amount requested by the Commissioner General of Labour.

The company says it has also commenced the removal of the remaining stocks of fuel oil and lubricants and will work with the SLPA until the Supreme Court's deadline date of September 12th to take out these removable stocks from the premises before the land is handed over to the SLPA.

In Monday's ruling, the Supreme Court decreed that any oil remaining in the tanks after September 12th would be kept by the SLPA.