Iranian warship Sahand entirely sinks despite rebalancing efforts

DUBAI (Reuters): The Iranian Navy frigate Sahand entirely sank in shallow waters on Tuesday in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, Nournews agency said, after it was briefly repositioned following its initial capsizing on Sunday.

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

On Sunday, state media said the ship had capsized during repairs at a wharf due to water ingress and that efforts were being made to rebalance it.

The Iranian-built stealth warship was first launched in 2018 and is equipped with a flight deck for helicopters, torpedo launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-ship guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and electronic warfare capabilities according to local media.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons.

It launched its first locally made destroyer in 2010 as part of a program to revamp its navy equipment, which dates from before the 1979 Islamic revolution and is mostly US-made.

In 2021, the Iranian Navy ship Kharg sank after catching fire in the Gulf of Oman during a training mission, without causing casualties.