Iranian Naval Ship IRIS Lavan Docks in Kochi Amid Dena Sinking and Sri Lanka Rescue in Expanding Iran War

India confirmed on Saturday that an Iranian naval vessel has docked at the southern port city of Kochi after reporting technical problems, a development that comes amid a series of dramatic maritime incidents involving Iranian warships in the Indian Ocean following the outbreak of the Iran war.

External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the Iranian ship IRIS Lavan had been granted permission to dock after the vessel reported difficulties while operating in the region, Associated Press reported. Speaking publicly about the decision, Jaishankar, according to AP, said allowing the ship to enter port was a humanitarian step taken under the circumstances.

File Photo of IRIS Lavan Via: Rapid Reports

“I think it was the humane thing to do,” he said, noting that the vessel had reported problems on March 1.

Government sources earlier said Iran first approached India on February 28 requesting urgent docking access for the ship, which had been present in the region for the International Fleet Review hosted by India earlier this year. Approval for the docking was granted on March 1 and the vessel arrived in Kochi on March 4.

Officials said the ship carries 183 crew members, who are currently being accommodated at Indian naval facilities in Kochi while the vessel undergoes necessary checks and arrangements.

The development comes just days after a dramatic escalation in maritime incidents involving Iranian vessels in waters close to India’s strategic neighbourhood. A U.S. submarine earlier torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing at least 87 of sailors and triggered an international rescue operation.

The frigate had also earlier participated in the same Indian naval exercises before moving through the Indian Ocean when it was struck.

Soon after the sinking, another Iranian naval vessel — IRIS Bushehr — sought assistance from Sri Lanka while anchored near the island’s waters. Sri Lankan authorities later transferred more than 200 sailors ashore and moved the ship to a naval facility as the situation was assessed.

Jaishankar, as per AP, acknowledged that the ships had taken part in Indian-hosted exercises but said they had effectively been “caught on the wrong side of events” once the conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel escalated.

The docking of IRIS Lavan in Kochi therefore places India in a delicate diplomatic position as the war spreads across sea lanes stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. While New Delhi has framed the decision as a humanitarian response to a ship reporting technical problems, the sequence of events highlights how the expanding conflict is increasingly intersecting with India’s maritime neighbourhood and regional naval presence.