Sri Lanka repatriates 40 Iranian sailors treated after being stranded off Galle

Sri Lanka repatriates Iranian crew members amid US blockade. (Photo/AP)

Sri Lanka has repatriated 40 Iranian sailors who were brought ashore from stranded merchant vessels off the southern coast for medical treatment, the Daily Mirror reported.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told the newspaper that all 40 crew members received medical attention in the country before departing for Iran on Saturday morning.

The sailors were aboard merchant ships located approximately 24 nautical miles off the port city of Galle when maritime authorities received emergency distress calls regarding their deteriorating medical conditions, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The Iranian Embassy in Colombo organised the repatriation flights, whilst Sri Lankan authorities facilitated their safe transfer through the port of Galle.

"We have coordinated the transfer and carried out our humanitarian obligations," ministry spokesperson Thushara Rodrigo said.

Stranded tankers

Nearly a dozen empty Iranian oil tankers reportedly remain anchored off Galle, unable to make the return voyage to Iran due to an ongoing United States naval blockade.

Sri Lankan officials stated that the vessels are positioned in international waters beyond the country's 12-nautical-mile territorial boundary, confirming that military reconnaissance aircraft and naval patrol vessels remain deployed to monitor the fleet's movements.

The humanitarian evacuation follows an earlier incident in March, when Iran's armed forces reported that 104 crew members of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena were killed and 32 others wounded during a US military strike in waters off Sri Lanka.

According to Iranian state news agency IRNA, the vessel was struck on 4 March while returning from the Milan Peace 2026 naval exercises in India.

Washington subsequently confirmed that an American submarine launched a torpedo attack against the warship.

At the time, Sri Lanka carried out a joint search-and-rescue mission after receiving a distress signal off Galle, transferring the 32 wounded Iranian servicemen to a local hospital.

Source: TRT