COLOMBO: At least 40 Iranian sailors from US-sanctioned oil tankers anchored just outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters have sought urgent medical treatment on the island, officials said on Sunday.
"The merchant sailors were brought ashore through the port of Galle, 115km south of the capital Colombo, over the weekend," officials said.
Sri Lanka's foreign ministry confirmed that it had coordinated the ship-to-shore transfer of Iranian sailors in need of urgent care.
"We have coordinated the transfer and carried out our humanitarian obligations," ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo told AFP.
"The costs were borne by the Iranian embassy," Rodrigo said.
Nearly a dozen empty Iranian tankers are anchored close to Galle harbour.
A US submarine sunk an Iranian frigate, the IRIS Dena, in nearby international waters in March, killing 104 sailors.
Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the frigate, while a second Iranian naval craft has sought safe harbour at Trincomalee in the northeast of the island.
Iranian tankers and other merchant vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.
Sri Lanka insists that the tankers are in international waters, where they enjoy freedom of navigation.
The Sri Lankan military has deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside the country's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, according to defence officials.
"Many Iranian merchant vessels have moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore because of US sanctions, while a few remain near Sri Lankan waters," authorities said.