Sri Lanka repatriates 40 Iranian sailors rescued from merchant vessels off Galle

Forty sailors returned to Iran after treatment

Sri Lanka has repatriated 40 Iranian sailors, who were brought ashore from merchant vessels for medical treatment, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the country's Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. According to him, all 40 people received medical care and returned to Iran on Saturday morning. The sailors were aboard merchant vessels about 24 nautical miles off Galle when the authorities received distress signals about their health condition, Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said. The evacuation was organized by the Iranian Embassy in Colombo, while Sri Lankan authorities coordinated the handover through the port of Galle. “We coordinated the handover and fulfilled our humanitarian obligations”, the outlet quoted ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo as saying.

Tankers remain off the coast amid the blockade

According to the Daily Mirror, off the coast of Galle nearly a dozen empty Iranian oil tankers remain at anchor, unable to return home because of the US blockade. Sri Lankan authorities say the vessels are in international waters, beyond the country's 12-mile territorial waters zone. Surveillance aircraft and naval patrol boats have been deployed to monitor them, the newspaper reports. The outlet also recalls the March incident: according to a statement by the Iranian army, 104 crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena were killed and 32 were wounded in a US attack off the coast of Sri Lanka. According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, the ship was attacked on March 4 while returning from the Milan Peace 2026 naval exercises in India; Washington confirmed that the torpedo attack was carried out by an American submarine. Sri Lanka reported that after receiving a distress signal it conducted a joint rescue operation and took 32 wounded crew members to a local hospital.

Significance of the event

The situation off Galle affects the interests of three parties at once: Sri Lanka, which has to monitor the vessels near its borders; Iran, whose crews need assistance; and the United States, whose blockade, according to the Daily Mirror, prevents the tankers from returning home. In practical terms, the event means the continuation of humanitarian operations off the Sri Lankan coast: the authorities have already twice — in March and now — evacuated Iranian sailors through the port of Galle. It remains unclear how long the tankers will stay in international waters and how the fate of their crews will be resolved.