New Delhi: India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock at the southern port of Kochi following a request from Tehran, and the vessel’s 183-member crew has been accommodated at naval facilities, government officials said on Friday.
The IRIS Lavan, an amphibious warfare vessel, was in the region to participate in an International Fleet Review hosted by India last month. It docked at Kochi on Wednesday, the same day that the frigate IRIS Dena was sunk about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s coast, killing 87 sailors and dramatically widening the US-Iran conflict.
India was approached by Iran to take in IRIS Lavan, which was in the region for the International Fleet Review, on February 28. Approval was accorded for the docking on March 1, and IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4.
The request from the Iranian side indicated that a docking at Kochi was “urgent” as IRIS Lavan had developed “technical issues”, the officials said. The warship’s 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, they said.
