科伦坡——官员于10月25日表示，来自停泊在斯里兰卡领海外缘、遭美国制裁的油轮的至少40名伊朗船员，已在该岛寻求紧急医疗救治。
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 Oct 25.
官员称，这些商船船员于周末经由距离首都科伦坡以南115公里的加勒港上岸。
The merchant sailors were brought ashore through the port of Galle, 115km south of the capital Colombo, over the weekend, officials said.
斯里兰卡外交部证实，该部门协调了需要紧急护理的伊朗船员从船到岸上的转运工作。
Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry confirmed that it had coordinated the ship-to-shore transfer of Iranian sailors in need of urgent care.
外交部发言人图沙拉·罗德里戈对法新社表示：“我们协调了转运工作，并履行了我们的国际人道主义义务。费用由伊朗大使馆承担。”近十艘空载的伊朗油轮停泊在加勒港附近。
“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.”Nearly a dozen empty Iranian tankers are anchored close to Galle harbour.
3月，一艘美国潜艇在附近的国际水域击沉了一艘伊朗护卫舰“德纳”号（IRIS Dena），造成104名船员丧生。
A US submarine sunk an Iranian frigate, the IRIS Dena, in nearby international waters in March, killing 104 sailors.
斯里兰卡海军从该护卫舰上救出了32名伊朗船员，同时第二艘伊朗海军舰艇已在斯里兰卡东北部的亭可马里寻求避风港。
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 north-east of the island.
由于美国的封锁，伊朗油轮和其他商船一直处于进退维谷的境地，无法返回母港。斯里兰卡坚称，这些油轮位于享有航行自由的国际水域。
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.
据国防官员透露，斯里兰卡军方已部署侦察机和巡逻艇，对该国12海里领海外的船务进行监控。
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.
当局表示，由于美国的制裁，许多伊朗商船已向东驶向马六甲海峡和新加坡方向，而少数船只仍停留在斯里兰卡水域附近。
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, the authorities said.