• SLN saves 32 survivors, no wreck visible, search expanded to collect the deceased
• SLAF and SLN did not track any other surface warship or military aircraft near the site at the time of sinking
• US War Secretary Hegseth trumpets US submarine sank Iranian warship in the IOR

Sri Lanka’s ambitions for stability, economic progress, and its longstanding diplomatic push to see the Indian Ocean Region remain a ‘Zone of Peace’ faced an unpleasant shock yesterday morning (04) when an Iranian warship sank off the southern coast.

International media reports that a US Navy submarine torpedoed the vessel.

The incident brings to Sri Lanka’s doorstep the dynamic war which is being waged by Israel, the US and their allies against Iran in the Middle East. When The Daily Morning spoke to a senior defence official and asked if Sri Lanka had been given a courtesy heads up by a US Pacific Fleet top brass who visited the island recently and spoke of the ‘great partnership’ between the nations, the senior official said Colombo was kept in the dark, as it often is on some matters.

According to Sri Lanka Navy Spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath, when the Sri Lanka Navy vessels reached the site of the distressed vessel, the IRIS Dena was no longer visible, with only an oil patch, life rafts and survivors found in the water. The Navy had rushed 32 survivors, who were in need of urgent medical attention, to Galle Harbour and then to Karapitiya Hospital for treatment. According to him, search and rescue operations – an obligation under international law for Sri Lanka – continue, with a focus on recovering more survivors. He acknowledged that several deceased sailors presumed from the Dena have been observed in the vicinity of the incident, and some have been recovered. He could not comment on the number of dead. The Navy declined to comment about the nature of the incident, stating their focus at present (last evening) was on search and rescue, adding that an investigation will follow to determine the cause.

“Our immediate priority is to save the lives of those on board the stricken vessel. Only after that will we be able to conduct an investigation and obtain a technical report on how this happened. Our main focus right now is to rescue anyone who may still be alive. We will be able to confirm later how many people were lost on this ship. The reason for the damage is not identified." He added that the Sri Lanka Coast Guard and Navy are continuing search operations in the area.

On the condition of the survivors, he said that their medical state had thus far prevented detailed questioning. "Further questioning will be done in consultation with medical experts."

Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Media Spokesperson Group Captain Nalin Wewakumbura said that the Air Force assisted the operation by providing information and reaching the location at the same time as naval units to support the coordinated rescue effort. An SLAF aircraft had also been deployed to aid ongoing search operations. The Sri Lanka Navy denied reports attributed to them by international media outlets that the vessel was attacked by a submarine, stating that a thorough technical investigation was needed to establish that in the absence of information from the Iranian government. Earlier in the day, the Defence Ministry stated that a rescue mission was initiated after a distress signal was received from an Iranian ship about 40 nautical miles off Galle Harbour.

It had been the dark hours of yesterday morning when the island nation’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo received a distressed call from the Iranian warship IRIS Dena, a 1500-ton light frigate, calling for aid. The Dena had recently visited Visakhapatnam in India, answering an invitation by the Indian Government to attend the prestigious Indian Navy Fleet Review, for which Sri Lanka dispatched two naval vessels as well. Incidentally, the US Navy was a notable absentee from their ‘Quad’ partner’s fleet review this year.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath was the first from the Government to acknowledge the incident when he responded to a question in Parliament from an opposition member about ‘an Iranian vessel being attacked off the south coast of Sri Lanka’, stating that Sri Lanka had dispatched vessels to rescue survivors from the incident. Herath would later visit the Iranian Embassy in Colombo to sign the book of condolence for the late leader Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike launched by the US/Israel under ‘Operation Epic Fury’.

Later in the evening, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told a press conference in the United States that “…in the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought they were safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo – Quiet Death. First sinking of an enemy ship since World War II”.