Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickramasinghe has issued a directive to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via the Attorney General, to expedite the repatriation of the fishermen aboard the Lorenzo Putha 4 vessel. 

The vessel and its crew, currently in Seychelles, is subject to legal proceedings in accordance with the laws of Seychelles.

Piyal Nishantha de Silva, the Minister of State for Fisheries, confirmed that discussions involving the Department of Fisheries, the Navy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have taken place regarding the vessel's situation. 

The legal framework governing these activities falls under Seychelles' jurisdiction.

In January 2024, Six Sri Lankan fishermen, were rescued by the Seychelles Coast Guard after being held hostage by members of an armed group - who were also arrested. 

The director for operations at the Seychelles Coast Guard, Major Hans Radegonde, told reporters that they received reports that piracy had started again in the region since late last year.

Radegonde clarified that they received word about the incident from the Sri Lankan Navy and the operation to free the hostages took place after the vessel entered the Seychelles Exclusive Economic Zone, which is 1.4 million square kilometres.

"We got word and we already had planes and boats patrolling that area at the time, so immediately we went to the location where the boat was supposedly highjacked. This was outside our EEZ at around 400 to 500 thousand nautical miles northeast of Mahe. It took us about one day and a half to track the boat and observe the route it was taking. At that point, we saw that they entered the Seychelles' EEZ at about 180 thousand nautical miles away from Denis Island," he explained.