Iranian warship Sahand capsizes and sinks in port

Frigate was being repaired at a wharf when it became unbalanced and sank in shallow water

File. This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the seized oil tanker Advantage Sweet off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, 6 May 2023 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

A number of people have been injured after an Iranian warship capsized and sank during repairs at a port, according to the country’s state-run media.

The incident involved the Sahand, a 1,300-tonne naval frigate, and took place in Bandar Abbas, a southern port near the Strait of Hormuz.

A report in the IRNA news agency said the ship became unbalanced after taking on water while being repaired at the wharf.

“Several people sustained minor injuries in the incident and were taken to hospital,” IRNA said, citing the Iranian army’s news portal.

The navy said there was a possibility that the frigate could be “rebalanced” since the incident occurred in shallow water.

Social media images showed the Sahand tilted on its side.

Named after a northern Iranian mountain, the Sahand took six years to build and was launched into the Persian Gulf in December 2018.

The ship was equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft batteries, and advanced radar systems. Reports suggested that since its construction, the ship had been upgraded with new radar, medium-range air-defence missiles, and additional anti-ship missiles, potentially affecting its stability.

This is the third incident of an Iranian warship sinking in the past six years – the Damavand sank in the Caspian Sea in January 2018 after hitting a breakwater, and the Kharg sank in June 2021 following a fire in the Gulf of Oman.