Iran’s largest navy ship wrecked after burning in Gulf of Oman

Iran’s largest navy ship sank on Tuesday after suffering a fire on board Monday off the coast of the city of Jask, located in the Gulf of Oman, as confirmed by the authorities of the Central Asian country.

The Navy detailed in a statement that The ‘Jark’, the largest vessel it has in terms of tonnage, suffered a fire for reasons not yet determined on Tuesday, without the efforts to extinguish it having been crowned with success.

Thus, he indicated that the crew were evacuated and transferred to Jask during the firefighting tasks, which ultimately failed, as reported by Iranian news agency Mehr.

The Navy said the ship, which has been operational for more than four decades, was sent to international waters a few days ago to participate in training exercises.

The crew of the ‘Kharg’ could be evacuated before the ship sinks off the port of Jask, in southern Iran, according to a navy statement.

The fire broke out in “one of the systems” of the ship, the text said without giving further details.

Emergency services fought for “20 hours” after the crew evacuated the ship, but “as the fire spread the ‘Kharg’ rescue mission failed and the ship collapsed. sunk near Jask, ”the Navy said.

The text adds that the ship, in service for decades, recently carried out “a training mission” in international waters.

In 2020, 19 Iranian sailors were killed during maneuvers after a warship was mistakenly hit by gunfire.

In April, the Iranian authorities announced that a “commercial vessel”, the “Saviz”, had suffered material damage in the Red Sea as a result of an explosion of undetermined origin.

the New York Times reported that the “Saviz” was the target of an Israeli attack, in response to “previous Iranian attacks on Israeli ships”.

Iranian regime announced a few days ago that its pipeline project to Jask was completed and that the oil could have been transported to the port.

Para Irán, exportar crudo vía Jask significa ganar varios días de navegación, con respecto al puerto de Kharg, en el Golfo, y también evitar el estrecho de Ormuz, center of important tensions between Irán y Estados Unidos, cuyos navíos de guerra están presentes en the region.

Due to the US sanctions against Iran, introduced by the government of former US President Donald Trump to reduce exports from the Islamic Republic, Tehran is very discreet about its oil shipments, aimed at the few customers who still dare to do so. buy.

(With AFP and Europa Press information)

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