Colombo: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the government has taken over operations concerning the Iranian ship IRIS Bushehr and its crew under international conventions as a neutral state, as authorities move to bring the crew ashore and relocate the ship away from the country’s main commercial harbor.
IRIS Bushehr is an Iranian naval vessel which had taken part in a 2026 International Fleet Review, a cooperative maritime exercise held in India along with IRIS Dena, which sank off the island’s southern coast after a US submarine attack on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Dissanayake told a news conference that IRIS Bushehr reported to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 4, and sought permission to enter a Sri Lankan port.
He said Sri Lanka, which places great emphasis on humanity, handled the situation in line with international obligations, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Calling it a non-routine situation because the ship belongs to a party to an ongoing conflict, the president said officials held continuous discussions with the ship’s captain, the crew and the Iranian Embassy, and decided to place the vessel and personnel on board under Sri Lanka’s care following agreed procedures.
He said the government decided not to bring the vessel into the Port of Colombo due to commercial sensitivities. Instead, Sri Lanka will transfer the crew to Colombo by naval vessels and then move the ship to the Trincomalee Port area in the country’s east.
Dissanayake said personnel prepared to be brought ashore include 53 officers, 84 cadet officers, 48 senior sailors and 21 sailors. They are to be placed at Welisara Navy Camp in Sri Lanka’s Western Province after medical examinations and registration.
After the evacuation, a joint essential team comprising Sri Lankan naval personnel and 42 members of the ship’s crew will sail the vessel to the Trincomalee area, he added.
(IANS)
