Sri Lanka takes control of second Iranian vessel fearing US sub attack

2026-03-06 - 10:13

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka has taken control of an Iranian naval vessel off its coast, a day after a deadly US submarine attack on another ship that killed at least 87 people.President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in a televised address that his country's navy had offloaded 208 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr, which had requested port entry due to engine trouble.The Bushehr, like the IRIS Dena, the ship torpedoed off Sri Lanka's southern coast on Wednesday, had recently participated in a naval exercise in eastern India, Dissanayake said.Sri Lanka allowed it to dock at a north-eastern port after hours of discussion, with Dissanayake saying they would "never hesitate to protect humanity".The South Asian country has stressed its neutrality, saying it would take no sides as it finds itself caught in the middle of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran."Our position has been to safeguard our neutrality while demonstrating our humanitarian values," Dissanayake said in a statement."[Sri Lanka] intervened in a way that demonstrated our commitment to international conventions, protecting the reputation and dignity of our country, and protecting human lives," he said on Thursday.His statements come after an American submarine on Wednesday torpedoed the Iris Dena — which was struck about 44 nautical miles (81km) off Sri Lanka's southern coast.The frigate, which was carrying about 180 crew, was part of a multinational naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal. Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean, southeast of India and southwest of the Bay of Bengal.The sinking of the Iris Dena marked an escalation in the widening Middle East conflict.Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called it an "atrocity at sea" and said the US would "bitterly regret" the attack.US defence secretary Pete Hegseth touted it as an example of America's military prowess, claiming it was "the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two".While it is the first time since 1945 that an American submarine has sunk an enemy ship this way, the UK and Pakistan have both sunk vessels using torpedoes since then.The Iris Dena was one of about 20 Iranian navy vessels destroyed since Israel and the US launched coordinated strikes on Iran over the weekend.Sri Lanka allowed the Iris Bushehr to dock at the port of Trincomalee, though the vessel was near the port of Colombo — the country's main commercial port. He added that there was a risk of the country's maritime industry being "adversely affected", should the ship have docked in Colombo.The crew members of the Iris Bushehr — which include 53 officers, 84 cadet officers, 48 senior sailors and 23 sailors, however, will be brought to Colombo.As of Thursday, Sri Lanka's navy is also still searching through its waters for crew members of the Iris Dena who are still missing.The 32 survivors from the Iris Dena are now being treated at a hospital in the southern port city of Galle for serious injuries.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was assessing the situation and was working with the local authorities."Our priority is to ensure that all the wounded, sick and shipwrecked receive the assistance they are entitled to without delay," the ICRC spokesperson in Colombo, Ruwanthi Jayasundare, told AFP.The emergency treatment unit of the district's main hospital was off-limits to visitors and other patients, with medical authorities setting up a separate ward for the wounded Iranians."Most of them have minor injuries, but there were a few with fractures and burns," a nurse at the hospital said, without giving her name.Meanwhile in Galle, where the recovered bodies of the 84 Iranian sailors were taken, authorities began an inquest into the deaths.With the local morgue only able to handle about 25 bodies at a time, hospital staff said authorities were rushing to set up refrigerated shipping containers to preserve the remains until legal formalities were completed.Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said authorities were continuing the search for missing sailors.Sri Lanka has maintained a long-standing policy of non-alignment since it became independent in 1948.It has strong economic and diplomatic ties with both Iran and the US.Sri Lanka had bought $250 million worth of crude oil from Iran and is paying back through monthly exports of tea. The US, on the other hand, is the primary destination for Sri Lankan garment and apparel. — Agencies