New Delhi, Nov. 13 -- Indian authorities are providing assistance to an Indian seafarer from Kerala stranded in Iran for close to a year, and efforts are underway to facilitate his return home, the external affairs ministry said on Friday.

Akshay Hareesh, a 22-year-old mariner, joined the merchant vessel Plam Marine in Japan in 2025. He has been stranded in Iran since the vessel arrived at the port of Bandar Lengeh last year, and his passport and other travel documents went missing.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing that Hareesh had informed an Indian consular officer that the captain of the vessel had stated that his passport and Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC), which all seafar...