Sri Lanka repatriates 40 Iranian sailors rescued from stranded merchant vessels: Report

By Rania Abushamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Sri Lanka has repatriated 40 Iranian sailors who were brought ashore from stranded merchant vessels for medical treatment, the Daily Mirror reported Sunday.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told the newspaper that all 40 received medical attention before returning to Iran on Saturday morning.

The sailors were aboard merchant vessels approximately 24 nautical miles off Galle when authorities received distress calls concerning their medical conditions, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Iranian Embassy in Colombo arranged the evacuation while Sri Lankan authorities coordinated their transfer through Galle port.

“We have coordinated the transfer and carried out our humanitarian obligations,” ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said, according to the report.

Nearly a dozen empty Iranian oil tankers reportedly remain anchored off Galle, unable to return home because of a US blockade.

Sri Lankan authorities say the vessels are in international waters, beyond the country’s 12-nautical-mile territorial limit. Reconnaissance aircraft and naval patrol boats have been deployed to monitor them, the newspaper reported.

In March, Iran’s army said 104 crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena were killed and 32 others injured in a US attack off Sri Lanka.

According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the vessel was attacked on March 4 while returning from the Milan Peace 2026 naval drills in India. Washington confirmed that an American submarine carried out a torpedo attack on the ship.

Sri Lanka said it launched a joint rescue operation after receiving a distress call from the vessel off Galle, taking 32 wounded crew members to a local hospital.

Rania R.a. Abushamala