Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday they were escorting a second Iranian naval vessel to harbour and moving 208 of its crew to a camp, two days after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the same area. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his island nation had a “humanitarian responsibility” to take in the crew, as the US and Israeli war with Iran raged, wreaking havoc on global markets and disrupting trade and travel.
The Sri Lankan Navy identified the second Iranian ship, which had engine problems, as naval auxiliary vessel IRIS Booshehr. Iranian sailors were seen dragging suitcases and carrying bags as they disembarked in Sri Lanka, in pictures shared by the Presidential Media Division.
Other images showed Sri Lankan navy tug boats and naval vessels approaching the Booshehr, which Dissanayake earlier said would be moved to the Trincomalee harbour on the eastern coast.