A day after India said it had launched a search-and-rescue mission after a US submarine attacked an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, government sources have revealed that India has allowed another Iranian vessel to dock in Kochi.
IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, was torpedoed by a US submarine 40 nautical miles off Galle in southern Sri Lanka on the morning of Wednesday, March 4, while it was returning to Iran after participating in the MILAN multilateral naval exercise. The ship sank as a result of the attack and Sri Lanka said it had recovered the bodies of 87 people.
Sources said on Friday that another ship, the IRIS Lavan, was also in the region in connection with the exercise and the International Fleet Review. Iran, they said, approached India to “take in” the amphibious ship on February 28, the day Israel and the US launched their strikes on the Middle-Eastern country, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The request was approved a day later, on March 1, and the ship docked in Kochi on Wednesday, the day IRIS Dena was attacked. All 183 crew members of the IRIS Lavan, the sources said, are currently residing in naval facilities in the area.
“The 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. In this context, its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi,” said a source.
After the IRIS Dena was attacked, several Opposition parties questioned the Centre’s silence on the matter and said it was an “abdication of India’s responsibilities as a maritime power”. The sailors, the Congress said, were “honoured guests of India”.
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— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
Navy Statement
On Thursday, the Indian Navy issued a statement and said it had received a distress call from the IRIS Dena in the early hours of Wednesday and search-and-rescue operations (SAR) were launched immediately.
“…SAR efforts commencing with a long-range maritime patrol aircraft at 1000 hr on 04 March 26 to augment the search efforts led by Sri Lanka. Another aircraft with air-droppable life rafts was also kept on standby for immediate deployment. INS Tarangini (a sailing training ship) which was operating in vicinity was deployed for aiding the rescue efforts and arrived in search area by 1600 hr on 04 Mar 2026,” the Navy said
By then, it said, the Sri Lankan navy and other authorities had already begun rescue efforts and a survey vessel, INS Ikshak, was deployed from Kochi to help.
Iran, US Reaction
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US Navy of committing “an atrocity at sea” by sinking the ship and said the country “will come to bitterly regret” the attack. The warship, the minister said, was carrying a crew of nearly 130 people.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the ship had been sunk by a torpedo and died a “quiet death”. Describing the IRIS Dena as a “prize ship”, he asserted that the action illustrates how the US-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond the country’s borders