India repatriates non-essential crew members of Iranian warship docked in Kochi
The non-essential sailors left India on a Turkish airline aircraft.
India has repatriated the non-essential crew members of an Iranian warship which docked at Kochi port in Kerala on 4 March amid the escalating military conflict between Iran and the US, PTI reported today (14 March), citing people familiar with the matter.
More than 50 of the vessel's 183 crew members have stayed back as the warship, IRIS Lavan, remains in Kochi, they said.
The non-essential sailors left India on a Turkish airline aircraft.
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The aircraft landed in Kochi late last night after picking up the bodies from Colombo of more than 80 Iranian sailors from another warship that had been sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on 4 March.
IRIS Lavan was one of Iran's warships that attended India's International Fleet Review and the naval exercise held in Visakhapatnam in February.
While sailing in the Indian Ocean, the ship encountered mechanical issues.
On 28 February, Iran sought India's permission to allow three of its warships – IRIS Lavan, IRIS Bushehr, and IRIS Dena – to enter Indian ports, a request that coincided with the launch of US and Israeli strikes targeting Iran. New Delhi approved the proposal the following day.
However, only IRIS Lavan ultimately reached Kochi on 4 March.
Since then, the ship's personnel have been accommodated at facilities run by the Indian Navy in the city.
