Sri Lanka takes custody of a second Iranian warship and evacuates its 208 crew members

Colombo.- Sri Lanka took control of a second Iranian military vessel and will transfer the 208 members of its crew to Colombo after the sinking of an Iranian frigate on Wednesday off the south coast of the country, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake reported this Thursday.

“We decided not to take the ship to the port of Colombo, but to move it to the port of Trincomalee (…) Consequently, one of our naval vessels has approached the ship and the rescue operation is currently underway,” the president said in a special televised press conference. Dissanayake stated that the second vessel, which was within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), will be taken to a place near the aforementioned port, located in the northeast of the island, by a joint crew composed of both Sri Lankan and Iranian personnel. The president added that the Iranian government had requested that three of its naval vessels be allowed to stop at Sri Lankan ports on February 26 on a goodwill visit.

"Very complex" Protocols

"However, such visits have very complex protocols that must be followed, especially due to regional sensitivities. Therefore, we were examining all the laws and regulations that refer to such visits. Meanwhile, we discovered that these ships were just outside our territorial waters," he said. According to Dissanayake, the ship was moved to Trincomalee to avoid potential impacts on maritime traffic in Colombo, the country's main commercial port. The decision comes hours after an Iranian frigate was attacked on Wednesday about 40 kilometers from the southern port of Galle, an incident that triggered a rescue operation in which Sri Lankan forces rescued dozens of crew members and recovered several bodies. The president emphasized that Sri Lanka acted guided by humanitarian principles and its policy of neutrality in the conflict, while assuring that the country will not allow its territory, waters, or airspace to be used by any of the parties involved.