New Delhi: The three Iranian Navy warships, including IRIS Dena, set sail from Visakhapatnam Port in India for their onward voyage on February 25. Currently, all warships are stranded in the ocean region near Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka. The three Iranian Navy warships are named IRIS Dena, IRIS Lavan, and IRIS Bushehr.
Iran requested Sri Lanka to dock their three warships at Hambantota Port between March 9 and 13, but the Sri Lankan government cited security and diplomatic issues and, hence, rejected Iran’s request.
At the same time, Iran also requests a favour from India to dock their three warships at an Indian port. The Indian government considered their request and permitted them to dock all three Iranian warships starting March 1.
Following this, on March 4th, the IRIS Dena, which was sailing, was attacked by the US submarine USS Charlotte (SSN-766) near the port of Galle, 19 nautical miles (approximately 35 km or 22 mi) off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, which means that the IRIS Dena was attacked while en route to Kochi, India.
Two Iranian Navy warships are safe
The IRIS Dena, a Moudge-class frigate, was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine (the USS Charlotte) on March 4, 2026, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka. 87 sailors were killed, some were rescued, and many are missing.
The IRIS Lavan is an amphibious landing ship. It requested assistance from India due to a technical problem and docked at Kochi Port on March 4, 2026. It had 183 crew members, who are still safe aboard.
IRIS Bushehr is a Bandar Abbas-class replenishment ship (support/logistics ship). It sought assistance from Sri Lanka due to engine problems and was granted permission to dock at the Colombo Port.