The Iranian warship IRIS Dena, torpedoed by a US submarine on March 4, neither sought nor was offered shelter by India. A second vessel, IRIS Lavan, requested and received permission to dock at Kochi, where its 183 crew members remain. The third, IRIS Bushehr, sought help from Sri Lanka and was sheltered at Trincomalee, on the island’s north-eastern coast.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar clarified the confusing fate of the three-ship Iranian flotilla at today’s Raisina Dialogue. IRIS Dena had joined the International Fleet Review on February 18 and Exercise Milan (February 19-26), hosted by the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam.Denying reports that India refused aid, especially to the sunk ship, Jaishankar said: “We got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, presumably closest to our borders at that point, wanted to come into our port… On March 1, we said you can come in. It took them a few days to sail in and then they docked in Kochi.” The Minister did not name the vessel, but government sources confirmed yesterday that IRIS Lavan docked at Kochi on March 4. That same day, IRIS Dena was struck 38 km west of Galle, Sri Lanka—about 650 km south-east of Kochi. Also on March 4, IRIS Bushehr sought help from Sri Lankans and was given shelter at Trincomalee, a port on the north-eastern side of Sri Lanka, located almost 450 kms away from Galle.Sources said it is clear the three Iranian ships were not sailing together; the distance between IRIS Dena and the other two vessels would entail roughly a day’s sailing at sea.IRIS Dena was still in international waters, waiting to enter Sri Lankan waters. In mid-February, when the flotilla sailed east, Iran decided to field IRIS Dena for the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the exercise Milan at Visakhapatnam. The other two ships remained on the high seas. “They were not near the exercise area in Visakhapatnam but were in international waters,” sources said.Before leaving home waters, the Iranian side had sought prior permission from India to refuel the three ships on their return journey to Iran. The routine request was approved weeks before the IFR and Milan, with Kochi designated as the refuelling port. Navies routinely inform ‘friendly countries’ in advance to seek supplies such as fuel, rations and lubricants, and are directed to specific ports. This is standard practice, sources said.At that stage – before the IFR and Milan – there was no need for Iran to seek shelter for its ships, nor for India to offer it, sources added. Sources further said at Visakhapatnam, the Iranians accepted an offer to make a port call at Galle on the way back to Iran. The other two ships were far away — IRIS Lavan in Kochi and IRIS Bushehr in Trincomalee.