Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says it has coordinated efforts to treat and repatriate 40 Iranian sailors suffering from unspecified medical emergencies in international waters off the island’s southeastern coast.
Ministry spokesperson Thushara Rodrigo told BBC Sinhala they received a distress call on Saturday from Iranian ships arriving at Sri Lanka’s Galle Harbour “regarding an urgent medical need”.
The rescue operation was planned by the Iranian Embassy in Colombo, he said.
Iranian ships have been stranded at sea due to a US naval blockade. Sri Lanka stresses it is neutral in the conflict, but has at times offered help to Iranian sailors in what it says is an obligation to international law.
A BBC Sinhala report last month found that there were 21 Iranian vessels located in international waters near Sri Lanka.
The 40 rescued sailors served on different ships – though Sri Lankan authorities do not have information on how many ships they belonged to, Rodrigo said.
The sailors were brought ashore and taken to Colombo for medical treatment before being sent back to Iran by plane on Saturday night, he added.
He said that several agencies were involved in the operation, including local shipping companies.
According to Rodrigo, Sri Lanka was obliged under international law and humanitarian grounds to provide the necessary facilities for medical emergencies.
“This does not mean that we will provide assistance to those ships,” he said. “It is generally an internationally accepted tradition to respond to a distress call after receiving it.”
“We have dealt with such cases before. This is a normal process that continues to be implemented.”
The ongoing conflict in Iran started when the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on the country in February. Iran responded by attacking Israel, US bases and allied states in the Gulf, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international trade route.
Attacks by both sides have persisted as negotiations stalled.
Sri Lanka has sought to remain neutral in the conflict, having rejected military access requests from both the US and Iran and urged both parties to prioritise dialogue.
It has also offered assistance to Iranian ships caught in the conflict on what it argues are humanitarian grounds.
In March, Sri Lankan authorities said they responded to a distress call from the Iranian ship the Iris Dena, which had sunk off its coast after a US torpedo attack.
More than 80 crew members were killed in the attack, and injured survivors were taken to a hospital in the Galle Harbour.
The following day, Sri Lankan authorities allowed another Iranian naval vessel to dock at one of its ports, with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake saying that they would “never hesitate to protect humanity”.
Sri Lankan authorities said earlier this month they had no immediate plans to send aid to 19 Iranian ships near its coasts which had reported shortages of food, water and fuel. The authorities said they had to prioritise national interests, the Associated Press reported.
