U.S. strikes Iranian warship within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone

Sri Lanka Navy responded to a distress call as the incident occurred in the country’s Search and Rescue Region   

87 bodies of those who were in the ship have been recovered

The attack had been carried out by a US navy submarine late on Tuesday night

In the midst of the escalation of the war in the Middle East, over 100 people are missing and dozens others have been wounded after an Iranian warship IRIS Dena- a Moudge-class frigate from the Southern Fleet of the Iranian Navy- sank within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Sri Lanka following a torpedo strike by a U.S. submarine. 

However, the incident had occurred outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.   

A country has sovereign rights over its territorial waters running 12 nautical miles. However, the EEZ runs up to 200 nautical miles. Sri Lanka, a coastal country, has economic rights such as fishing.  

The vessel, which  was carrying around 180 crew members, had issued the distress call while sailing about 40 nautical miles south of Galle, just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.   

The US submarine had carried out a torpedo strike which sank the Iranian warship off the south coast of Sri Lanka, according to US secretary of defence  Pete Hegseth who confirmed that the US was behind the deadly strike on the Iranian frigate which was sailing close to the Sri Lankan coast.  

“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship which may have thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.” 

The attack was carried out by a US navy submarine late on Tuesday night. Hegseth said it was the first time since the Second World War that an enemy vessel had been targeted by the US in the Indian Ocean.  

Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said that the response was carried out under the country’s international maritime obligations. “We responded to the distress call under our international obligations as this falls within Sri Lanka’s Search and Rescue Area in the Indian Ocean,” he said.   

Accordingly, initially 32 crew members of the vessel were rescued and admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle.   

The spokesman said that several bodies suspected to be of the members of the crew of the vessel were also recovered from the location.   

He said search and rescue operations were still ongoing as of yesterday evening.   

The frigate was on its return voyage to Iran after attending the International Fleet Review (IFR) in Visakhapatnam, India. Sri Lanka Navy Ships (SLNS) Sagara and Nandimithra also took part in the IFR.   

It was learnt that Sri Lanka Navy and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) which is responsible for organizing search and rescue (SAR) operations within a designated maritime region was by the United States Indo-Pacific Command (PACOM) to provide assistance, following the distress call.   

The Sri Lanka Air Force, which deployed Beechcraft aircraft for surveillance, observed that the vessel had completely sunk at the time they reached, leaving behind only an oil slick on the surface of the water.   

The Dena destroyer is Iran’s newest and most advanced naval warship of the Iran, representing a major leap in indigenous maritime engineering. Built as part of the Moudge class, this 95-meter sea giant combines high speed, long range, advanced radar and sonar systems, powerful cruise missiles, air defense, and anti-submarine weapons into one fully digital combat platform.   

It was reported that the vessel had requested permission from Sri Lanka to make a port call at Colombo. The attack reportedly occurred while Sri Lankan authorities were in the process of reviewing the request amid diplomatic tensions.   

However, the Navy Spokesman said they had only received a distress call and that the cause of the emergency remains unknown. He said that the circumstances surrounding the incident would be determined following a technical assessment.   

He said the crew members admitted to hospital are continuing to receive treatment, and statements will only be recorded after their medical care is completed.   

When questioned about whether the vessel had requested permission to enter Sri Lanka, the navy spokesman said he was unable to comment at this stage, adding that further details could only be provided after an investigation.