Iran's largest warship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances the latest calamity to strike one of the countrys vessels in recent years amid tensions with the WestThe blaze began around 225 am and firefighters tried to contain it the Fars news agency reported but their efforts failed to save the 207meter 679foot Kharg which was used to resupply other ships in the fleet at sea and conduct training exercises State media reported 400 sailors and trainee cadets on board fled the vessel with 33 suffering injuriesThe ship sank near the Iranian port of Jask some 1270 kilometers 790 miles southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz the narrow mouth of the Persian GulfSatellite photos from Planet Labs Inc analysed by The Associated Press showed the Kharg off Jask with no sign of a fire as late as 11 am TuesdayAlso read Iranrsquos uranium production may complicate nuke talksPhotos circulated on Iranian social media showed sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them Fars published video of thick black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morningSatellites from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that track fires from space detected a blaze near Jask that started just before the time of the fire reported by FarsIranian officials offered no cause for the fire aboard the Kharg though they said an investigation had begunMeanwhile a massive fire broke out Wednesday night at the oil refinery serving Irans capital sending thick plumes of black smoke over TehranIt wasnt immediately clear if there were injuries or what caused the blaze at the Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co though temperatures in the capital reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius 104 degrees Fahrenheit and hot summer weather in Iran has caused fires in the pastThe fire Wednesday aboard the Kharg warship follows a series of mysterious explosions that began in 2019 targeting commercial ships in the Gulf of OmanThe US Navy accused Iran of targeting the ships with limpet mines timed explosives typically attached by divers to a vessels hullIran denied that though US Navy footage showed Revolutionary Guard members removing one unexploded limpet mine from a ship The attacks came amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran after thenPresident Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers Negotiations on saving the accord continue in ViennaIn April an Iranian ship called the MV Saviz believed to be a Guard base and anchored for years in the Red Sea off Yemen was targeted in an attack suspected to have been carried out by IsraelIt escalated a yearslong shadow war in the Mideast between the two countries ranging from strikes in Syria assaults on ships and attacks on Irans nuclear programThe Israeli prime ministers office did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday regarding the KhargPentagon press secretary John Kirby said the US was aware of the loss of the ship but declined to comment furtherState TV and semi official news agencies on Wednesday referred to the Kharg named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran as a training ship The vessel often hosted cadets from the Imam Khomeini Naval University on the Caspian SeaLike much of Irans major military hardware the Kharg dated back to before Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution The warship built in Britain and launched in 1977 entered the Iranian navy in 1984 after lengthy negotiations That aging military equipment has seen fatal accidents as recently as Tuesday when a malfunction in the ejector seats of an Iranian F5 dating back to before the revolution killed two pilots while the aircraft was parked in a hangarIn recent months the navy converted a slightly larger commercial tanker called the Makran to use it as a mobile launch platform for helicopters The Kharg also could launch helicopters on a smaller scaleBut the newer vessel likely cant fill the role of the Kharg which could handle both refueling and replenishing supplies of ships at sea said Mike Connell of the Center for Naval Analysis an Arlington Virginiabased federally funded nonprofit that works for the US governmentThe Kharg also was seaworthy enough to sail through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea and into South Asia in the past and could lift heavy cargoFor the regular Iranian navy this vessel was very valuable because it gave them reach Connell said That allowed them to conduct operations far afield They do have other logistics vessels but the Kharg was kind of the most capable and the largestThe sinking of the Kharg marks the latest naval disaster for Iran In 2020 during an Iranian military training exercise a missile mistakenly struck a naval vessel near Jask killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 Also in 2018 an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian SeaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies 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