Iris Dena sinking highlights: Sri Lanka says 'trying to safeguard' lives on second Iranian ship

A day after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle, Sri Lanka's southern coastal town, a second Iranian ship sought entry to its territorial waters on Thursday. Sri Lanka has said it is deliberating appropriate action. However, no decision was announced by 6 pm.

Sri Lanka also said it was trying to "safeguard lives" on a second Iranian ship. Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa was responding on Thursday to a query by the main opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, in Parliament about the second Iranian ship, located off Panadura, outside Colombo. "We are aware of it and are contemplating action to safeguard all lives on board," Jayathissa said. "We are intervening to resolve this issue to safeguard regional peace."

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, along with the Security Council and the government, are making the necessary interventions to resolve the issue, minimise the loss of life, and protect regional peace, he said.

The ship, according to Nalinda Jayathissa, awaits in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) close to the maritime boundary. PTI sources said the ship had requested emergency assistance.

After the US submarine attacked the Iranian warship, at least 87 people were killed and 32 wounded. Sri Lankan authorities have begun an inquest into the deaths of the sailors.

In Galle, the southern port town of Sri Lanka, the crew of the ship torpedoed by the US was receiving treatment. Their injuries are not of a serious nature, the hospital sources told news agency PTI.

"They have lacerations, one of them has a leg fracture and another needs hip treatment," a health official said on condition of anonymity.

Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa said Sri Lanka's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coastline and belong fully to the country. Further, from 12 to 200 nautical miles is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), where international maritime laws apply but Sri Lanka mainly has rights related to economic activities, not military operations, he explained

Sri Lanka said it was trying to "safeguard lives" on a second Iranian ship off its coast on Thursday, as per Reuters. Sri Lanka's cabinet spokesman told parliament that various authorities were responding to the presence of an Iranian ship in Sri Lanka's exclusive economic zone outside its maritime boundary near the port of Colombo.

"The President, defence officials, and all other relevant officials are aware and we are addressing the situation," spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said in response to questions from an opposition leader. "We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives," he said, without saying how, or whether the ship was a military vessel.

The ship sank within Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, about 19 nautical miles off the southern port city of Galle, after coming under attack from a U.S. submarine.

Search operations were continuing for an estimated 10 crew members who remain unaccounted for.

An Iranian remotely controlled boat laden with explosives was used on Thursday to target and damage the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe anchored in Iraqi waters, according to a Reuters report, quoting two Iraqi port security sources.

The small boat exploded after hitting the tanker and was the first recorded attack inside Iraq’s exclusive economic zone waters and an escalation of threats to commercial ships in the Gulf, the sources said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they had hit a U.S. tanker in the northern part of the Gulf, and the vessel was on fire.

A second Iranian ship has been reported in waters close to Sri Lanka and has sought emergency permission to dock, a day after a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate killing more than 80 people onboard.

The Sri Lankan minister Nalinda Jayatissa told parliament that another Iranian vessel was sailing close to Sri Lanka’s territorial waters on Thursday morning. “We are making necessary interventions to resolve this issue, restrict the threat to lives and to ensure regional security,” said Jayatissa.

Sources told the Guardian the ship was a logistical pipe-laying vessel, which is not categorised as a warship. It may be as close as 10 nautical miles from the western coast of Sri Lanka, putting it within the country’s sovereign waters.

The sources said the ship, which is reported to have a crew of more than 100, had made an urgent request to dock at Colombo port for engine repairs.

Sri Lanka’s navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water.

The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday criticised the BJP-led central government for what he described as its "unprecedented silence" on the US-Israeli attacks reaching areas close to India's borders and the Indian Ocean.

In a post on X, the SP chief said the development is a matter of concern for Indians and questioned why the government had not clarified its position on the issue.

"The US-Israel attacks reaching close to our borders and up to the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern for citizens," Yadav said, adding that the Centre's "silence" on such a serious matter is "deeply worrying".

Sri Lanka has remained neutral and has repeatedly urged dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran is a key buyer of Sri Lankan tea, the country's main export commodity.

The hospital revised the death toll in the Iranian warship sinking to 84 after issuing a figure of 87 on Wednesday, AFP reported.

Sri Lankan authorities have begun an inquest into the deaths of the sailors at the southern port city of Galle while the chief magistrate Sameera Dodangoda has ordered autopsies.

IRIS Dena sinking Live Updates: India believes in rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, adding that military conflict is not the resolution, in his first reaction to the fighting in West Asia.

PM Modi made the statement at a joint presser with the President of Finland. Read full story here

IRIS Dena sinking Live Updates: A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 87 sailors, a minister told parliament. Media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the second Iranian warship was just outside Sri Lankan waters, but gave no further details.

IRIS Dena sinking Live Updates: Iran launched a new wave of attacks Thursday morning at Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and a religious leader called for “Trump's blood,” while Israel said it had begun a “large-scale” attack on Tehran.

IRIS Dena sinking Live Updates: Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday again cornered Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of "silence" after a US submarine sank the Iranian warship "IRIS Dena" near Sri Lanka.

The ship was returning after participating in the International Fleet Review 2026 (IFR) and MILAN 2026 in Visakhapatnam.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said that the West Asia conflict has reached India's backyard and accused PM Modi of "surrendering India's strategic autonomy" when the country needs a "steady hand at the wheel".

IRIS Dena sinking Live Updates: Although the Iranians say IRIS Dena was a 'guest of Indian Navy', authoritative sources confirmed to HT that the ship did not ask for any help after war was declared on February 28.

IRIS Dena participated in the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Vizag from February 16 to February 25, the US-Israeli attack on Iran came on Feb 28. This means that the ship was outside Indian territory and in international waters after leaving on Friday, February 25.