On Wednesday, March 4, Sri Lankan authorities reportedly launched a major rescue operation after receiving a distress signal from the Iranian Navy’s Moudge class frigate Iris Dena. The IRIS Dena was sinking approximately 40 nautical miles south of Galle, just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.
Later today, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has informed parliament that two Sri Lankan Navy vessels and an aircraft were deployed, successfully rescuing 30 injured crew members. The IRIS Dena had a crew of 180 members.
UPDATE: One Iranian sailor is in critical condition after being rescued from the distressed frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Galle.
— Sri Lanka Tweet
A total of 32 rescued sailors have been admitted to Galle National Hospital. The cause of the vessel’s distress/sinking remains unknown. pic.twitter.com/v0gCQWVHik(@SriLankaTweet) March 4, 2026
The sailors have been transported to Karapitiya Hospital in the south of the Island for treatment. As of now, Sri Lankan authorities have not said anything as to how the IRIS Dena got damaged.
IRIS Dena, a relatively new frigate of the Iranian Navy, was domestically built and was commissioned in 2021. It had recently participated in India’s MILAN 2026, a multinational naval exercise in Visakhapatnam and was on its way back home, at a time when Iran and the USA are in a major conflict and Iranian vessels are facing the USA’s Operation Epic Fury in the Persian Gulf and nearby waters.
Speculations are rife on social media as to who sunk the vessel. Some are guessing that maybe the frigate was tailed and sunk by a US warship. Some are suggesting that it may have been targeted from a US Navy submarine based out of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
It is notable here that the Diego Garcia base is at a distance of around 950 nautical miles from Galle.
This is a developing story. More details will be updated.
