An Iranian Navy frigate, IRIS Sahand (74), capsized and sank in its home port of Bandar Abbas. The Sahand, a 12-year-old vessel and one of the Iranian Navy’s most advanced floor warring parties, became reported sunk through neighborhood media on July 7, 2024. The deliver turned into visible overturned on its port (left) facet, with the bow higher than the strict, leaving handiest the facet of the hull and sonar dome visible above the water.
Iranian warship Sahand capsizes and sinks
The accident occurred near the repair complex in Bandar Abbas, where the ship was undergoing repair of the frigate’s shaft.
As a result of the accident, the destroyer overturned on its side and was half submerged.
Sahand is the first… pic.twitter.com/J1xvxswuSd
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) July 7, 2024
Initial Suspicions and Possible Causes
Preliminary reviews suggest the sinking can also have resulted from a ‘technical failure’ for the duration of upkeep. However, the precise motive stays unknown, with possibilities starting from bad preservation to a docking coincidence. Sabotage can’t be completely brushed off at this early degree. The Sahand has formerly been active in the Red Sea, in which it is suspected of supporting Houthi attacks on service provider ships.
Iranian Navy’s Troubling Track Record
The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) has skilled a chain of excessive incidents in latest years:
On January 10, 2018, Sahand’s sister ship, Damavand (77), capsized and sank after going for walks aground.
Iran’s then-2d-biggest warship, Kharg, caught fireplace and sank in the Gulf of Oman on June 2, 2021.
Another sister deliver, Talayieh, overturned in a dry dock in Bandar Abbas on December 6, 2021.
The aid ship Konarak changed into struck with the aid of a missile on May 11, 2020, in a friendly fire incident regarding an Iranian missile.
Sahand’s Design and Upgrades
Sahand is a part of Iran’s Moudge elegance, an indigenous collection of frigates based on the British-designed Vosper Mark five, supplied to Iran earlier than the 1979 revolution. These vessels, together with the Sahand, function iterative improvements and opportunity weapon configurations. Notably, the Sahand had sloping aspects designed to lessen its radar signature.
The Iranian warship Sahand has capsized at the port of Bandar Abbas.
Nobody knows why. 😗🎶 pic.twitter.com/MVKyEfPZdj
— The Mossad: Satirical, Yet Awesome (@TheMossadIL) July 7, 2024
The frigate underwent enhancements that included a brand new AESA radar, medium-variety air-defense missiles, and a doubled complement of anti-deliver missiles. These improvements probable raised the deliver’s center of gravity, doubtlessly contributing to stability troubles.
Deployment and Strategic Role
Iran has deployed those warships, which includes the Sahand, to the Red Sea, wherein they’re believed to help the Houthi Movement in focused on merchant ships. The Houthis employ a variety of Iranian-provided or assisted weapons, including anti-deliver ballistic missiles, uncrewed floor vessels, anti-ship missiles, and drones. Iranian ships like the Sahand are suspected of supplying intelligence and focused on guide to these operations.
Iran’s Naval Follies
“One of Iran’s most modern frigates, the Sahand, has capsized in Bandar Abbas.”
“Since construction the ship had been upgraded to include a new AESA radar, 4-8 medium range air-defense missiles and double the number of anti-ship missiles.”
These… pic.twitter.com/ktvsSTbqcF
— Brent D. Sadler (@brentdsadler) July 7, 2024
Major Points:
- The Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Sahand (74) capsized and sank in Bandar Abbas on July 7, 2024.
- Preliminary reports suggest a ‘technical failure’ during repairs, with poor maintenance or docking accidents as possible causes.
- The Sahand, a 12-year-old vessel, is among the most advanced in the Iranian Navy and had undergone significant upgrades.
- The Iranian Navy has a history of serious incidents, including the sinking of Sahand’s sister ships Damavand and Talayieh, and the support ship Konarak being hit by a missile.
- The Sahand has been active in the Red Sea, suspected of assisting the Houthi Movement in targeting merchant ships with Iranian-supplied weapons.
TL Holcomb – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
