Crew of Iranian Naval Ship IRIS Lavan Leave Kochi After Sheltering at Cochin Port for Over a Week

Kochi: A total of 183 crew members from the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Lavan, which had been anchored at Cochin Port, have returned to Armenia with assistance from the Indian Navy unit in Kochi.

The ship had anchored at Kochi on March 4 following the outbreak of tensions in West Asia. The crew departed from Cochin International Airport at around 7 pm on Friday aboard a special flight arranged by the Government of Iran.

The vessel was one of the Iranian ships that had earlier arrived in Visakhapatnam in February to participate in the International Fleet Review and the multinational naval exercise MILAN. It later sought refuge at Kochi port with permission from the Government of India after a US attack on another Iranian ship IRIS Dena near the coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.

Apart from naval personnel, several Iranian civilians were also on board the vessel. Along with IRIS Lavan, two other Iranian ships—IRIS Bushehr and IRIS Dena—had also requested permission to anchor in Kochi.

While IRIS Bushehr anchored off the Sri Lankan coast, IRIS Dena came under a torpedo attack by a United States Navy submarine near Sri Lanka. The attack on IRIS Dena occurred on the same day IRIS Lavan anchored in Kochi.

Although the sailors and other passengers have now returned, reports indicate that the ship itself is not expected to leave Kochi immediately.