Sri Lanka on Thursday said it is deliberating appropriate action after a second Iranian ship has sought entry to its territorial waters, a day after a frigate belonging to the Islamic country was attacked near the island nation.

However, no decision was announced by 6 pm.

Sri Lanka on Wednesday said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors killed after a US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle, the island's southern coastal town.

Government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayathissa was on Thursday responding to a query by the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament about the second Iranian ship, located off Panadura, outside Colombo.

"We are aware of it and are contemplating action to safeguard all lives on board," Jayathissa said. "We are intervening to resolve this issue to safeguard regional peace."

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is also the Minister of Defence, along with the Security Council and the government are making the necessary interventions to resolve the issue, minimise the loss of life, and protect regional peace, he said.

A detailed report will be presented to the Parliament as and when the relevant activities conclude, the minister said.

The ship, according to Jayathissa, awaits in Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) close to the maritime boundary but out of its territorial waters.

Sri Lanka's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from its coastline and belong fully to the country. Further, from 12 to 200 nautical miles is the EEZ, where international maritime laws apply but Sri Lanka mainly has rights related to economic activities, not military operations, he explained.

Sources said the ship had requested emergency assistance.

Meanwhile, in Galle, the southern port town, the crew of the ship torpedoed by the US were receiving treatment. Their injuries are not of serious nature, the hospital sources said.

"They have lacerations, one of them has a leg fracture and another needs hip treatment," a health official said on the condition of anonymity.

The inquests on the 84 bodies of the perished Iranian sailors would be conducted Thursday at the Karapitiya hospital in Galle where the injured are receiving treatment.

The ill-fated ship was returning home from Visakhapatnam after a naval fleet review exercise.

While the Sri Lanka Navy refused to give reasons as to what caused the vessel to make a distress plea, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that it was a US submarine that sank the Iranian warship in international waters.

On Wednesday, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath had told Parliament that an emergency message was received by the Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard at 5.08 am regarding a sinking ship named IRIS Dena, located about 40 nautical miles off Galle.

Sri Lankan Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said, "We are only concerned about our obligation to rescue them as first responders under international maritime obligations."

The US and Israel have launched a massive joint attack on Iran since February 28. The war has extended to almost the entire Gulf region with Iran's retaliation.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.