Sri Lanka is evacuating 208 crew members from an Iranian naval ship — IRINS Bushehr — stranded near its territorial waters, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Thursday (March 5, 2026), a day after a U.S. submarine torpedoed another Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, killing at least 84 sailors and widening the war in West Asia into the Indian Ocean region.
The Sri Lankan Navy would take the crew to the Colombo Port, while the vessel will be diverted to the eastern Trincomalee harbour, President Dissanayake said in a televised address on Thursday (March 5, 2026) night. Sri Lanka’s response, he said, was on humanitarian grounds and focused on saving lives, after the vessel reported an engine fault. “No one deserves to die in this war. Every life is precious”, he said.
Emphasising that Sri Lanka will continue to pursue a neutral foreign policy, he said the country was “hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,” amid concerns over the possible impact of the war in West Asia on the global economy and people’s livelihoods. After the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran last week, Colombo called on “all concerned parties to exercise maximum restraint” and to de-escalate tensions. The government has so far not responded to the U.S. claim on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) that its submarine attacked the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena.
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News of the second Iranian vessel near Sri Lankan waters drew attention during a parliamentary debate earlier on Thursday. Raising concern over regional security, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa on Thursday (March 5, 2026) said the ship was reportedly positioned close to the Colombo Port. In response, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told Parliament that the vessel was in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) near the maritime boundary, and not in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. Details of where the vessel was coming from or headed to, and why it was stranded, are awaited.
Sri Lankan authorities are yet to comment on whether the vessel sought a port call, as is speculated in some media reports.
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The government is “fully aware” of the situation, he said, adding that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, also the Defence Minister, and the Security Council were working on resolving the matter, to minimise loss of life and safeguard regional peace, Mr. Jayatissa said.
Meanwhile, the 32 sailors who were rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy from IRIS Dena on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) continue to receive treatment at a public hospital in the southern Galle district, Sri Lankan officials said.
The distress call from the Iranian warship — returning after participating in the ‘International Fleet Review 2026’ held in Visakhapatanam last week — came early on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) , from around 40 nautical miles off the island’s southern coast. The Navy recovered 84 bodies and has since been continuing the search operation to locate dozens who are missing.
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Vijitha Herath in Delhi
Amid growing concern over regional implications of the war in West Asia, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath arrived in New Delhi on Thursday (March 5, 2026) to attend ‘Raisina Dialogue’, the high-level annual global forum hosted by India on international and strategic affairs.
While neither New Delhi nor Colombo has directly responded to the U.S. claiming responsibility for torpedoing the Iranian frigate south of Sri Lanka, Mr. Herath said on X on Thursday (March 5, 2026) that he spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on the “on the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East”. The post made no mention of the Iranian frigate. “Sri Lanka expressed grave concern over the escalation of hostilities and reaffirmed the importance of diplomatic dialogue to restore regional peace,” he said.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, too, posted on X on Thursday (March 5, 2026) evening: “Had a telecon with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi this afternoon”, with no further details.
Earlier on Thursday (March 5, 2026) , Mr. Aragchi said the U.S. has “perpetrated an atrocity at sea”, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores, and will “bitterly regret” the move. In a post on X on Thursday morning, Mr. Aragchi wrote: “The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set.”
On Wednesday (March 4, 2026) , U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Washington D.C.-based media that an American submarine sank an Iranian warship “that thought it was safe in international waters”. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo,” he said, terming it a “quiet death” and the “first sinking of an enemy ship” by a torpedo since World War II. “Like in that war,” he said, “we are fighting to win,” Mr. Hegseth said.
Published – March 05, 2026 02:13 pm IST
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