Government officials said the request from Iran was received on 28 February 2026, stating that the ship required urgent docking due to technical issues while operating in the region. The Indian government approved the request on 1 March, allowing the vessel to dock at the Kochi naval facility. Following its arrival, the ship’s 183 crew members were provided temporary accommodation within naval establishments in the city.
The docking request reportedly came days before a separate Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a United States submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. The attack occurred while the vessel was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. Reports indicated that at least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the torpedo strike.
In a related development, Sri Lanka also extended assistance to another Iranian naval ship operating in nearby waters. Sri Lankan naval authorities confirmed that more than 200 sailors from the vessel IRIS Bushehr were transported ashore after the ship requested technical support while anchored outside the country’s territorial waters.
A Sri Lankan navy spokesperson said that 204 sailors were transferred to the Welisara Naval Base near Colombo, where they completed immigration procedures and medical examinations. Officials reported no health issues among the crew members. Around 15 personnel remained aboard the vessel along with Sri Lankan naval staff to assist with addressing a reported mechanical fault.
Sri Lankan authorities stated that the Iranian crew members are helping interpret operational instructions, manuals and technical logs as part of ongoing assistance efforts. The vessel is expected to be escorted to the eastern port of Trincomalee, where it will remain under Sri Lankan custody until further notice.
The developments have drawn attention to increasing maritime tensions in the Indian Ocean region following the rare sinking of a surface warship by a submarine, an incident seldom seen in modern naval conflicts since World War II. The episode also underscores the growing complexity of regional naval activity involving multiple countries operating in strategic waters near South Asia.
