Iran plane leaves India with sailors, bodies as Indian ships win Hormuz reprieve

By Krishna N. Das, Saurabh Sharma and Uditha Jayasinghe

NEW DELHI/COLOMBO, March 13 (Reuters) - A chartered plane arranged by Iran departed southern India late on Friday carrying some sailors from a naval vessel that had docked in the country, as well as the bodies of crew members killed in a U.S. attack off Sri Lanka, two sources told Reuters.

The sailor movements come as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has rattled shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy supplies and roughly 40% of India’s crude imports. After days of uncertainty following Iranian attacks on ships, Tehran on Friday confirmed that Indian vessels would be allowed to pass through the strait, offering relief to New Delhi as it seeks to avoid a broader energy crunch.

The aircraft had earlier taken off from Sri Lanka carrying the bodies of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a U.S. submarine attack on a warship off the island’s coast last week, an Indian official with direct knowledge of the matter said. It then landed in the neighbouring southern Indian city of Kochi before departing with sailors from another Iranian vessel and some Iranian tourists stranded in India, the official added.

An Iranian source confirmed the plane had taken off from Kochi but declined to confirm its destination or other details for security reasons.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk by a torpedo from a U.S. submarine on March 4 while it was returning from a naval exercise in India amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Two other ships that also participated in the exercises sought shelter: the IRIS Lavan, which docked in India, and the IRIS Booshehr which docked in Sri Lanka.

A Sri Lankan court ordered this week that the bodies of the sailors killed in the attack, stored in a morgue in the southern port city of Galle's National Hospital, be handed over to the embassy of Iran.

Sri Lanka's health, foreign, and defence ministries did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment. The Sri Lankan navy said it was not involved in the transport and repatriation efforts.

Thirty-two survivors of the sunken ship are in Sri Lanka, as well as 208 crew members from the IRIS Booshehr.

The Sri Lankan foreign ministry is in touch with the Iranian embassy in Colombo about the crew, which in turn is consulting Tehran, the defence ministry had said.

REGIONAL FALLOUT FROM WAR

Reuters reported last week that Washington was pressing Colombo to not repatriate the survivors from the two vessels.

The repatriations underscore the growing regional fallout from the Iran war, which has badly disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz following multiple attacks on ships by Iran. India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer, has been in regular touch with Iranian officials about safe transit for Indian-flagged or destined vessels.

A handful of ships have already passed through the Strait in recent days, a reprieve that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has played up as a diplomatic success ahead of key state elections through social media videos and other posts.

Iran's ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, confirmed safe passage for Indian vessels.

"Because we believe that Iran and India are friends," he told reporters late on Friday. "We have common interests and a common fate. I, as the ambassador for Iran in India, I say to you that the government of India .. after the war, will help us in different fields."