After the U.S. sinks an Iranian warship, Sri Lanka takes custody of an Iranian vessel : NPR

Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from the warship IRIS Dena by the Sri Lankan Navy are escorted to a forensic doctor at the National Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka transferred more than 200 sailors from an Iranian navy ship to shore on Friday after requesting help while it was anchored outside the country’s waters, as tensions rose in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine.

Sri Lanka Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said 204 sailors from the IRIS Bushehr were brought to the Welisara naval base near the capital, Colombo. They underwent border control procedures and medical examinations, but none revealed any health problems.

Around 15 other people were left on board the ship with the help of Sri Lankan Navy personnel because they had reported a problem with the ship. Iranian sailors interpret operational instructions, manuals and logbooks for their Sri Lankan counterparts. He said the ship would be taken to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka and would remain in Sri Lanka’s custody until further notice.

Iranian ship takes part in naval exercises

The Sri Lankan government took custody of the Bushehr after the United States sank an Iranian warship, the IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. The strike marked one of the few cases since World War II where a submarine sank a surface warship, and highlighted the growing scope of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

The Dena had participated in naval exercises organized by India before heading to international waters to return home. At least 74 countries participated in the events, according to the Indian Defense Ministry, including the US Navy, which conducted reconnaissance and maritime patrol exercises.

The Indian Navy received a distress signal from the Dena, but by the time it launched a search and rescue operation, the Sri Lankan Navy had already begun its own rescue efforts, the ministry said.

The Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Dena was carrying “nearly 130” crew members. The normal crew size for a warship of this class is 140 people. Araghchi called the sinking an “atrocity at sea” and said the United States would “bitterly regret” the attack.

Sri Lanka says it acted in accordance with international law

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Thursday evening that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr after discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain after one of its engines failed.

“We must understand that this is not an ordinary situation. This is a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter our port. We must consider this in accordance with international treaties and conventions,” he told reporters Thursday evening.

Separately, on Friday, he wrote on X: “No civilians should die in wars. Our approach is that every life is as precious as ours.”

The IRIS Bushehr had been described in previous Iranian media as a naval logistics ship equipped with a helicopter platform.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was guided by neutrality while seeking to uphold humanitarian principles.

“We have followed a very clear position. We will not be partial to any state and we will not be subservient to any state,” he said.

The Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during the international fleet review held in Visakhapatnam, India, February 18, 2026. (AP Photo)

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Sri Lanka’s neutrality put to the test

The scale of the conflict in the Middle East places strategically located Sri Lanka in a delicate position as it attempts to balance its humanitarian obligations, international maritime law and its long-standing policy of non-alignment.

HMGS Palihakkara, a retired former foreign minister of Sri Lanka who also served as its permanent representative to the United Nations, said the country had acted responsibly and impartially.

“There was a distress call from the ship. So naturally Sri Lanka, as a party to the law of the sea and the Hague Convention, had no choice but to do what it did by organizing a humanitarian operation to provide assistance to save lives and provide medical care to those affected,” he said.

Palihakkara said parties to the conflict would understand that Sri Lanka was not taking sides.

“You could not have ignored the distress call. Even attacking powers cannot let shipwrecked sailors die. It is the law,” Palihakkara said.

Katsuya Yamamoto, director of the strategy and deterrence program at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo, said Sri Lanka, which is not at war with either the United States or Iran, is considered a neutral state. As such, the Bushehr can enter a Sri Lankan port if the government allows it, he said.

Yamamoto said that once the ship docked, it fell under Iranian jurisdiction, leaving Sri Lankan authorities without a legal basis to inspect it unless Colombo decided to side with the United States.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, welcomed Sri Lanka’s intervention, saying on X that it reflected its commitment to “multilateralism, maintaining neutrality and dedication to peace”.

Australians on board a submarine

The Australian government confirmed Friday that three Australians were on board the submarine that sank the IRIS Dena. The Australians were there as part of the US, Australian and UK trilateral training program under the AUKUS security pact.

The Australian government said it had no warning that the United States and Israel were planning to attack Iran. Australia has not commented on the legality of the attack, but supports the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defense Association policy think tank, said it was “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded in another country’s military to go to war against a country like Iran with which Australia was not at war.

He said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian ship.

“Australians wouldn’t have a job where they have to press the torpedo button because the captain of the boat gives the order and someone else, maybe the weapons officer, presses the button, but they won’t be Australian,” James said.