Iran suffered another humiliating disaster after its largest naval ship, which it calls a naval training support vessel, was destroyed in a fire.
The fire happened near the port of Jask, as rumors circulated throughout the night.
The disaster was confirmed in the morning by Iran’s Tasnim News, and other sources reported the same.
Iran says that “measures were taken to extinguish the fire; the trained personnel disembarked and were taken to shore.”
It is not clear whether the fire was accidental, but tensions have loomed over the region for the last year amid reports of various attacks on vessels of Iran and Israel as well as Iranian harassment of US ships. Iranian ships swarmed a US Coast Guard vessel in April, and the US seized an Iranian shipment of weapons on a Dhow in May.
Video and photos claimed to show the fire. The vessel left for training at sea several days ago. It caught fire for some reason when a “system” failed on board. The Kharg warship suffered devastating damage despite Iran’s best efforts to send military personnel to fight the fire. This comes a day after an Iranian aircraft crashed and two elite pilots died.
Tasnim said that “according to the public relations of the second maritime area of Jask, despite 20 hours of all-out efforts and the use of maritime relief facilities, due to the spread of fire in various parts, the rescue operation of [the] Kharg training support vessel was ineffective and the vessel sank.”
Iran says the vessel has seen four decades of service. Around 400 people were rescued from the ship.
An official said that, unfortunately, “this ship caught fire at 11 o’clock yesterday, and rescue forces were immediately dispatched to the scene of the accident; and with timely action and speed of action, they were able to save the lives of all crew and students.”
The ship sank at eight in the morning Iran time. Iranian officials said that “the cause of the accident is still unknown, and as soon as the forces are transferred from Jask to Bandar Abbas, we will inform in this regard....
“This ship is one of the most advanced vessels of the Iranian military and is sometimes called a helicopter carrier,” said the public relations officer of the 1st Najaf region.
It was considered one of the larger naval vessels in the region. “This ship could supply city electricity, such as to Bandar Abbas, with its generators, so that by running all generators and steam systems, it could reach 6000 kWh of electricity.”
This appears to be a major setback for Iran. Iran has recently tried to increase its naval footprint, acquiring new ships and sending ships to the Red Sea and as far as Venezuela.
In November last year Iran showed off a naval vessel called Shahid Roudaki festooned with drones and weapons. Iran also said in February it received 340 new vessels for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy. Iranian submarines however have appeared to be in dry dock.
The Kharq was large and participated in many activities over the years. It was considered an important ship for long-range operations. This is because Iranian frigates and other vessels need it as a sort of “mother ship.” In April another Iranian ship, called Saviz, which operates as another kind of “mother ship,” was attacked in the Red Sea.
According to The Wall Street Journal Israel has carried out a dozen attacks on Iranian ships over the last several years, mostly ships transporting oil. Iran has been accused of attacking three ships linked to Israel this year as well in areas around the Gulf of Oman.