Kochi, India. India allowed the Iranian warship Lavan to dock at its southern port of Kochi as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday. The move followed a U.S. submarine strike that sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
Docking request and humanitarian rationale
The Lavan docked in Kochi on Wednesday, the same day a U.S. submarine struck the Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
Jaishankar said the Lavan, described by the U.S. Naval Institute’s online news site as an amphibious landing vessel, and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review” and were caught up in events. He said India approached the request “from the point of view of humanity,” adding, “I think we did the right thing.”
The source said India received the docking request on February 28, the day the Iran war started, and that the request was urgent because the vessel had developed technical issues. The source said the Lavan’s 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi.
U.S. strike and regional developments
U.S. President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
At least 87 people were killed in the U.S. attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
The Dena was returning from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials. Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
What do you think India’s decision to allow the Lavan to dock in Kochi could mean for regional maritime tensions?
