Days before the Iranian warship, Iris Dina, was hit by a US torpedo off the coast of Sri Lanka, the Indian government did not allow another Iranian ship, Iris Lavan, to dock in the port of Kochi in southwest India, sources said on Friday.
The IRIS Lavan docked in Kochi on March 4, after receiving a request from Tehran on February 28, when the conflict between the United States and Iran began.
“The IRIS Lavan… docked in Kochi on March 4. In this context, its 183-member crew is currently residing at naval facilities in Kochi,” the source said, according to PTI.
183 crew members of the ship have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi. The French news agency quoted a source as saying, “Iris Lavan… docked in Kochi on March 4. In this context, its crew, consisting of 183 individuals, is currently residing in naval facilities in Kochi.”
This came after the United States sank the Iranian warship, Iris Dina, near Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. Dina was sunk by a torpedo from an American submarine, while another Iranian warship, the Iris Bushehr, docked in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Navy transferred more than 200 sailors from the ship to shore on Friday after it requested assistance while it was anchored outside the country’s waters. Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath said the crew members were transferred to the Welesara naval base near the capital, Colombo, and that 15 others were left on the ship, the Associated Press reported.
Sri Lankan Navy personnel are also on board to provide assistance, as crew members reported a fault with the vessel. Sampath said that the ship will be transported to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, and will remain there until further notice, according to the Associated Press.
