Iranian Navy's Sahand destroyer frigate sinks in Iran port and is shown being lifted in sling

The Iranian Navy has suffered an embarrassing incident with one of its destroyers – in port. Local reports suggest that Sahand was being repaired at a port on the coast of ​​Bandar Abbas, but capsized and sunk after ‘the rope holding the ship broke’.

But now, approximately two weeks following its dip, local media reports that the Iranian Navy says it’s successfully retrieved Sahand from the water. The extent of the damage sustained by the vessel remains undetermined at this time.

Iranian Navy's Sahand destroyer frigate sinks in Iran port. Ship lies on side next to other vessels

The 96-metre vessel originally lost its balance due to water infiltration into the ballast tanks.

“As Sahand was being repaired at the wharf, it lost its balance due to water ingress. Fortunately… the vessel is being returned to balance quickly,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency said at the time, prior to its full capsize.

Iranian Navy's Sahand destroyer frigate sinks in Iran port - ship is partially submerged

“The Sahand warship, which was rebalanced on the water with great difficulty on Monday, has now sunk after the rope holding the ship broke,” Nournews, a news agency affiliated to the Supreme National Security Council, then reported.

Iranian Navy's Sahand destroyer frigate sinks in Iran port as people are seen walking on its submerged hull

According to Nexta the ship was undergoing repair of the frigate’s shaft. It reports Sahand is the first Iranian destroyer built by local specialists without the help of other states. It was launched in December 2018.

The ship was equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft batteries, and advanced radar systems. Since its construction, the ship has been upgraded with new radar, medium-range air-defence missiles, and additional anti-ship missiles, potentially affecting its stability, posits The Independent.

Reports also indicate that Sahand was being readied for an anti-piracy patrol mission in the Indian Ocean.

According to Iran International the frigate recently led a flotilla of Iranian vessels to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden amid attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on commercial ships in the region.

Sahand joined Iran’s Navy fleet in 2018 and is equipped with cruise missiles and stealth technologies designed to evade enemy radars, says state media.

This is the third time an Iranian warship has sunk 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.

In October 2020, a merchant ship cut a minesweeper, Kallisto, in two.

The Greek navy minesweeper, Kallisto, was sliced in two just outside Piraeus. The enormous damage was said to be due in part to the construction materials of the warship. It was made of reinforced plastic and fibreglass, making it vulnerable to impact. When built in the 1980s, Kallisto was one of the largest warships ever built with a fibreglass hull. Mine countermeasures ships are typically built with non-metallic hulls, in part to help reduce their vulnerability to magnetic mines.

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Main image courtesy of Iranian Navy, others courtesy of Iran International English via Twitter.

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