Colombo, Oct 26: Sri Lanka repatriated 40 Iranian sailors after rescuing them from a distressed vessel off its southern coast and providing them with medical care.
“They departed by air early on Saturday,” a foreign ministry spokesman told reporters here on Sunday.
The Embassy of Iran had funded the logistical arrangements for the departure, he said.
All 40 sailors received medical attention before returning to Iran, the spokesman said.
Sri Lankan authorities launched a humanitarian operation after receiving information about a merchant vessel in distress about 24 nautical miles off Galle, a port city on the island nation’s southern coast.
The repatriation comes amid heightened scrutiny of Iranian vessels operating in waters around Sri Lanka following a series of maritime incidents involving Iranian naval ships and concerns over US sanctions on vessels linked to Iran.
In March, Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine outside Sri Lankan waters, killing at least 84 Iranian sailors.
Sri Lanka subsequently provided assistance to another Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, which was in distress in the vicinity of the incident. The 208 personnel aboard Bushehr were repatriated after Sri Lankan authorities arranged for the vessel to be towed to the eastern port of Trincomalee.
In September, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said Iranian vessels were among 47 ships that had been operating around Sri Lankan waters but remained outside the country’s maritime limits.
The developments have also raised questions about the implications of US sanctions for Sri Lanka’s handling of Iranian vessels.
Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said US secondary sanctions announced in August were part of Washington’s broader global policy and were not directed specifically at Sri Lanka.
Under the secondary sanctions announced on August 24, individuals and entities providing services to vessels subject to US sanctions risk losing access to the US financial system.
The ministry’s clarification came amid media speculation that Washington had cautioned Colombo against servicing Iranian tankers operating outside its waters.
