A second Iranian warship was moving towards Sri Lanka on Thursday, 5th March, just a day after a US submarine sank an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, 4th March. This attack resulted in the deaths of 87 Iranian sailors and has raised tensions in the region.
Sri Lankan minister Nalinda Jayatissa said that the IRINS Bushehr, carrying around 270 crew, is currently located just outside Sri Lanka’s waters. The situation is being closely watched by officials because of its location near the island nation.
Second Iranian warship moving towards Sri Lanka’s waters 😮
— Sri Lanka Tweet 🇱🇰 (@SriLankaTweet) March 5, 2026
A second Iranian warship reportedly IRINS Bushehr carrying more than 100 crew is heading towards Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, the same area where a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate yesterday.
– Aljazeera… pic.twitter.com/mW8lEoWPb1
Chief Government Whip and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa acknowledged the presence of the vessel and said the Sri Lankan government and the Ministry of Defence were monitoring the situation. IRINS Bushehr is currently positioned in international waters within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), near the maritime boundary. However, it is not in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, as the island nation has not allowed it to enter its waters.
“The government and the Defence Ministry are aware of the ship. The government is involved in providing maximum intervention pertaining to the lives of those onboard. We will give a report once we complete the mission,” Jayatissa said.
IRINS Bushehr is a military supply ship, not a combat ship. As per reports, it had arrived to deliver supplies to the IRIS Dena, which was sunk by an US submarine yesterday.
Crew on board feared another attack
According to sources quoted by AFP, this Iranian vessel has over 100 crew members on board. The crew on board is fearing an attack on their vessel, just as the frigate was attacked a day earlier on Wednesday, 4th March, near Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan MP Namal Rajapaksa said that an Iranian war vessel had made an urgent request to enter a Sri Lankan port. He said that the government was still considering the request.
“The government must immediately reveal what its stance is on this matter,” Rajapaksa said in a post on X.
It has been brought to our notice that another Iranian vessel is in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone, just outside our territorial waters and has sought the government’s permission to make an urgent port call. However it is yet awaiting the government’s clearance.
— Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) March 5, 2026
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Preparations in Galle after the deadly strike
At the same time, the authorities in the southern port city of Galle, Sri Lanka, are preparing to release the remains of the 87 Iranian sailors killed in the attack. The bodies were brought to the city after the attack in the Indian Ocean.
Officials at the main hospital in Galle said that 32 rescued Iranian sailors are still undergoing treatment at the hospital. The hospital has been put under tighter security, with police and commandos deployed around the hospital.
Sri Lanka’s navy spokesman, Buddhika Sampath, said that the navy ships are still searching the sea for the 60 people believed to be missing after the attack.
Tensions rise across the region
Reports also suggest that Iran has asked Sri Lanka to allow it to move the war vessel to a safer location. The Sri Lankan President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, is reportedly holding talks with his team to decide the response to the request.
The attack happened hundreds of miles away from the Gulf region, where US and Israeli forces have been carrying out strikes against Iran. In response, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on American and Israeli bases.
On Thursday, 5th March, Iran launched another wave of strikes on Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
