The Sri Lankan Navy on Friday said 204 of the 208 Iranian personnel on board the IRINS Bushehr have been "safely" transferred to the Port of Colombo. The incident comes two days after an Iranian Navy frigate was sunk near the island nation. In a televised address on Thursday, it was revealed that the IRINS Bushehr had sought permission to enter Sri Lankan waters, citing engine failure.
Four sailors remain on the ship, which had developed trouble in one of its engines, and it will take at least two more days for the vessel to reach the eastern Port of Trincomalee from its current location outside the capital, Colombo. Earlier, Sri Lankan media had reported that Tehran had requested the docking of the Bushehr and the IRIS Tonb in Colombo Port. The island nation stated that it could not risk the security of its capital city by letting them dock and redirected them to Trincomalee Port instead.
Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said the Iranian sailors will be taken to the navy camp at Welisara, a northern suburb of Colombo. "They will be subject to a medical examination as a formality of registration," Sampath was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
"We wanted to remain neutral while dealing with a humanitarian response," he said, adding that Sri Lanka's role was limited to responding to a request from one party involved in the conflict.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that on 26 February, Iran sought Sri Lanka's permission to enter the Port of Colombo for four days between 9 and 13 March for the purpose of a "goodwill visit". "That was not the proper way for goodwill visits. We were studying the situation. On 27 February, we were told that a sailor had tripped and fallen and required assistance to bring him ashore," PTI quoted him as saying.