Reuters said the sailors came from 19 commercial ships, while local media, including reports citing India's The Hindu newspaper, identified the vessels as US-sanctioned oil tankers

The Sri Lankan authorities previously acknowledged that 19 ships were positioned approximately 24 nautical miles off the country's coast. Crews on board the ships reported shortages of food, water, and fuel.

A spokesman for Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said that the island nation had coordinated the rescue of 40 Iranian seafarers from multiple commercial ships in international waters off its coast and supported their return to Iran. The Associated Press (AP) reported separately that the Iranian embassy and local shipping agents had arranged for vessels to transport the seafarers ashore, while Sri Lankan authorities had handled immigration and other administrative procedures. The AP stated that the ships were among Iranian vessels that had been stranded near Sri Lanka following the US naval blockade imposed as part of Washington's actions against Iran.

A request from the Iranian embassy to rescue the seafarers

Notably, Thushara Rodrigo, a ministry spokesman, stated that the ministry had received a request from the Iranian embassy via diplomatic channels to rescue the seafarers, who were experiencing unspecified medical emergencies. While the ministry did not provide any further details regarding the reason for the rescue, local media outlets, including the Indian national newspaper The Hindu, reported that the sailors had been aboard US-sanctioned oil tankers.

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19 ships were positioned approximately 24 nautical miles off the coast.

The Sri Lankan authorities previously acknowledged that 19 ships were positioned approximately 24 nautical miles off the country's coast. Crews on board the ships reported shortages of food, water and fuel. Earlier this month, Sri Lankan officials told the Associated Press that they had no immediate plans to assist the stranded vessels, citing national interests and concerns about potential US secondary sanctions.

Humanitarian efforts

The seafarers from the 19 ships were brought ashore at Galle Harbour, around 126 km from the commercial capital, Colombo, where they received medical treatment before returning to Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the spokesman. Sri Lanka's navy and coastguard typically provide support during humanitarian efforts, a government source with direct knowledge of the rescue told Reuters.

A rescue operation was carried out previously.

The most recent operation follows an earlier rescue involving Iranian military personnel off the coast of Sri Lanka. On 4 March, a US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters near Sri Lanka, killing more than 80 seafarers. The bodies of those killed were returned to Iran in mid-March, while 32 survivors of the sunken warship and 208 crew members from another Iranian vessel were repatriated in April.

Source: Agencies

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