Indian Navy launches search, rescue operations after distress call from Iranian ship near Sri Lanka

The Indian Navy launched search and rescue (SAR) operations after a distress call from Iranian vessel IRIS Dena was received by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Colombo early Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

According to the Indian Navy, the ship was operating about 20 nautical miles west of Galle in the SAR region under Sri Lankan responsibility.

The Indian Navy further added that the Sri Lankan Navy initially reported the distress situation. In response, the Indian Navy promptly deployed a long-range maritime patrol aircraft around 1000 hours on March 4 to support the search operations being led by the Sri Lankan authorities. Another aircraft equipped with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment.

The Indian Navy’s sail training vessel, INS Tarangini, which was operating nearby, was diverted to assist the rescue efforts and reached the designated search area by 1600 hours the same day. By then, the Sri Lankan Navy and other agencies had already begun SAR operations in the region.

Meanwhile, INS Ikshak has sailed from Kochi to further augment the search mission and remains deployed in the area to look for missing personnel as part of humanitarian assistance to shipwrecked crew members.

Coordination between the Indian and Sri Lankan authorities continues as search efforts remain underway, it added