India has allowed an Iranian naval vessel to dock at Kochi after it reported urgent technical problems. Authorities also arranged accommodation for all 183 crew members of the ship.

According to a report by Asian News International (ANI), the Iranian government requested permission from India several days before the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk by a US submarine.

The request was made for another Iranian vessel, IRIS Lavan, which was operating in the region as part of the International Fleet Review.

Iran requested docking due to technical issues

Government sources said Iran approached India on 28 February 2026 and asked for urgent docking permission for the ship at Kochi.

The request explained that the vessel was facing technical problems and required immediate assistance.

“This request was received on 28 February 2026, indicating that a docking at Kochi was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues. Approval was accorded for the docking on 1 March. IRIS Lavan has since docked at Kochi on 4 March,” ANI quoted government sources as saying.

After approval, the ship arrived and docked at Kochi on 4 March.

Sri Lanka also assists another Iranian naval vessel

At the same time, neighbouring Sri Lanka also provided assistance to another Iranian naval ship. According to the Associated Press, Sri Lankan authorities helped more than 200 sailors from the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr.

Navy spokesperson Buddhika Sampath said that 204 sailors were transported to the Welisara Naval Base near the capital, Colombo. Officials conducted border checks and medical examinations on the sailors. However, none of them showed any health problems.

Ship fault reported; some crew remain onboard

Around 15 sailors stayed on the ship along with Sri Lankan naval personnel. They are helping investigate a technical fault reported on the vessel.

The Iranian sailors are also assisting Sri Lankan officers by interpreting operational manuals, instructions and ship logs.

Authorities plan to move the vessel to the port city of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka. The ship will remain under Sri Lankan custody until further notice.

Incident follows US strike on Iranian warship

These developments came shortly after a major military incident in the region. The United States sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka’s coast earlier in the week.

The attack was unusual because submarine strikes against surface warships are rare in modern times. Experts say such incidents have hardly occurred since the end of World War II.

The strike also showed the widening scale of the military campaign carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran.