Tuesday, September 8 2026
Tuesday, September 8 2026
The vessels were among 47 foreign craft located just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters off Galle harbour, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told reporters in Colombo.
He said the US Embassy in Colombo had complained that Iranian oil tankers were seeking safe harbour in Sri Lanka, but authorities found that the vessels were in international waters and therefore outside Colombo’s jurisdiction.
“They have not asked for any services, nor have we offered any,” Herath said at the weekly cabinet briefing.
He said Iranian vessels were also anchored outside the territorial waters of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The 22 tankers off Sri Lanka were spotted near Galle harbour, where the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the frigate.
Iranian vessels have been left in limbo, unable to return to their home ports because of a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Sri Lanka’s air force has deployed reconnaissance aircraft, while the navy has sent patrol boats to monitor the vessels beyond Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters. (COLOMBO/Sept8/2026)
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