Before IRIS Dena sank, India allowed another Iran warship to dock at Kochi

Approval was granted on March 1 for IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi after a request from the Iranian government

India agreed to Iran’s request to allow its naval ship IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi in Kerala after the vessel developed technical issues, just days before another Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a United States (US) Navy submarine off the Sri Lankan coast, a defence source confirmed to Business Standard.

 

The development was first reported by news agency ANI. The source confirmed that the Government of India received a request from its Iranian counterpart on February 28 to allow IRIS Lavan to dock at Kochi. The news agency described the request as urgent, as the vessel had developed technical issues.

 

 

The source also confirmed that approval was granted on March 1, with IRIS Lavan docking at Kochi on March 4 (Wednesday), close to when IRIS Dena was sunk.

 

IRIS Lavan’s crew of 183 is being housed at naval facilities in Kochi, the agency report added.

 

The vessel is an amphibious warfare landing ship.

 

The source, however, clarified that IRIS Lavan, unlike IRIS Dena, was not in the region to participate in either the International Fleet Review or the Indian Navy’s flagship multilateral exercise, MILAN 2026.

 

IRIS Dena was sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday by a US submarine, with 32 sailors rescued and over 100 reported missing or dead out of an estimated 180 crew on board.

 

The ship was operating about 20 nautical miles west of Galle, a city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, within the search-and-rescue region under Sri Lankan responsibility.

 

In a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the ship was sunk by a torpedo from a US submarine.

 

After receiving information that IRIS Dena was in distress, Sri Lanka sent ships and air force planes for a rescue mission.

 

IRIS Dena had visited India to participate in the International Fleet Review, which featured vessels from 18 nations, including the US, and MILAN 2026, during the February 15–25 period.

 

As of Thursday, the Indian Navy continued assisting in efforts to search for missing members of IRIS Dena’s crew as a humanitarian measure for shipwrecked personnel.