India's decision to let Iranian ship to dock in Kochi guided by humanitarian principles: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed on Saturday that India permitted an Iranian ship to dock in Kochi on humanitarian grounds following a request from the Iranian side on February 28 as the vessel faced some problems.

Permission was given for the vessel to dock on March 1 and the warship, IRIS Lavan, docked in Kochi on March 4. The vessel remains in Kochi, with its 183 crew members currently accommodated at Indian naval facilities.

Speaking at an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, Jaishankar also made an indirect reference to the sinking of Iranian warship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.

"For us, when this ship wanted to come in and that too in difficulties, it was the humane thing to do. We were guided by that principle," he said.

"Of the other ships, one had a similar situation in Sri Lanka and they took the decision which they did. And one unfortunately didn't make it," he said, referring to the sinking of IRIS Dena.

IRIS Dena was returning home after participating in the Milan multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack on Wednesday.

In his remarks, Jaishankar emphasised that India continues to be net security provider in the Indian Ocean region.

The external affairs minister was joined at the interaction by his counterparts from Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles.

The ministers underscored the necessity of adhering to international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), when addressing maritime incidents.

Jaishankar also underlined India's priority of ensuring the safety of Indian seafarers and the 10 million Indian nationals living in West Asian countries in view of the crisis in the region.

"Indians are a very large segment of the people who man merchant ships. Every time there is an attack on a tanker or vessels carrying goods, it is very likely that all or part of that vessel is manned by Indians," he said.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, responding to a question on the sinking of IRIS Dena, emphasised the importance of following UNCLOS and international laws.

"Sri Lanka faces so many challenges. We need to strengthen (the) implementation of international laws," he said.

"In this incident we are also following the international laws and we have taken all steps according to the international laws. I think we need not support any party. We took all steps in a humanitarian way," Herath said.