Sri Lanka coordinated the transfer of 40 Iranian seafarers from stranded oil tankers anchored off Galle to the shore for medical treatment on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The ministry said the vessels were about 24 nautical miles off the coast of Galle, and that the operation followed distress calls about the medical condition of the crew. All 40 received medical attention before leaving for Iran on Saturday night, it said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo told The Hindu that Sri Lanka handled the transfer alone, in line with its humanitarian obligations. “The Iranian Embassy bore all the expenses,” he said. A senior official at the Iranian Embassy in Colombo confirmed the operation.
The Hindu reported that the sailors were taken from Galle to Colombo for treatment, which means they spent only a few hours in the country. It described the tankers as U.S.-sanctioned vessels anchored just outside Sri Lankan territorial waters.
The Southern Province Senior Deputy Inspector General’s office gave a different figure, telling the Daily Mirror that 27 crew members who had fallen ill were brought ashore on Saturday afternoon. It said the Navy deployed two craft to carry them to Galle Port, and that they were reportedly moved to a private hospital in Colombo. The reports do not explain the difference between 27 and 40.
Background
The operation comes a month after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. pressure through sanctions had left Iranian vessels stranded in Sri Lankan waters, according to The Hindu. At the time the Foreign Ministry said Colombo would not extend assistance to the sanctioned vessels. It added that the secondary sanctions were part of a broader directive from Washington and were not specific to Sri Lanka.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath denied media reports of U.S. pressure on Sri Lanka. He said the government took decisions strictly protecting the country’s sovereignty, while remaining prepared to act on humanitarian grounds when appropriate.
The Hindu also recalled that earlier this year a U.S. submarine attacked and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. At least 84 people were killed, it reported. The government, while restating its commitment to a neutral foreign policy, directed the Navy to evacuate the injured sailors, who were treated at a public hospital in the Galle district.
What it means
The transfer shows how the government separates humanitarian help for crews from any assistance to the vessels themselves, a line the Foreign Ministry set out a month ago. Sri Lanka sits beside major shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, and ships in difficulty off its coast can look to the Navy and the Foreign Ministry for emergency help.
The ministry has not said whether the tankers remain at anchor or what will happen to the vessels now that the crew members have left.
