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

The Associated Press ^ | June 2, 2021 | By AMIR VAHDAT and JON GAMBRELL

[Oldeconomybuyer]

TEHRAN, Iran - The largest warship in the Iranian navy caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman under unclear circumstances, semiofficial news agencies reported.

The blaze began around 2:25 a.m. and firefighters tried to contain it, Fars said. The vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, some 1,270 kilometers (790 miles) southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Photos circulated on Iranian social media of sailors wearing life jackets evacuating the vessel as a fire burned behind them. State TV and semiofficial news agencies referred to the 207-meter (679 foot) Kharg as a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.

[wastedyears]

Nice ship you have there. Be weird if it... had a fire.

[xp38]

well at least the flotsam does

[oldasrocks]

This is what happens when you build a ship out of wood. They should have learned from the Romans.

[deport]

IS Kharg

[Travis McGee]

Fires on warships can easily get out of control no matter how they start.

It’s worse on warships where standards are low.

[Feckless]

Had an old CW4 ADA guy tell me about being in Iran before the revolution. Said they follow the book to a T, but with no common sense. HAWK launchers have two jeep wheels, book says you pull and pack bearings every year. If the wheel bearing fails 4 months in they wait until the scheduled maintenance to fix.

I later saw similar issues in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

[rlmorel]

That is very true. At sea, fire is always an enemy.

[Wizdum]

The Brits were fond of using a lot of magnesium in their ship building at the time. Once a fire started, it would be near impossible to stop as shown by the HMS Sheffield during the Falklands in 82.

[skimbell]

[Obadiah]

The front fell off.

[rlmorel]

From the linked article
In 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 Israel. It escalated a years long shadow war in Mideast waters between the two countries. The 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 the port of Jask, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15. Also in 2018, an Iranian navy destroyer sank in the Caspian Sea..."

Four vessels in the last three years. And people around the world wonder why putting nuclear arms in the hands of these people would be bad (apart from the Iranians constantly promising to "wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and non-stop chants for 42 years of "Death to America".

Trusting Iran to safely handle radioactive materials is like expecting their surface ships to stay on the surface. It is like trusting Ted Kennedy (or pretty much any leftist) to handle chauffer duties for young women. How could it get screwed up?

Leftists everywhere would say: "Oh, don't be so literal. Of course the Iranians don't intend to wipe Israel from the face of the Earth with nuclear weapons, and "Death to America" is a cultural touchstone for them. They don't really mean anything by that!"

[Diogenesis]

[woodbutcher1963]

HA HA !

[skepsel]

LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

Aw, that’s a shame.

https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3964233/posts

[Eleutheria5]

This is another fine mess you've gotten me into.

[Zathras]

You win the thread!

[bray]

Sounds like Yawn Kerry was on the bridge?

[johnthebaptistmoore]

Cue the Crying Tears Lady.

[Afterguard]

Hard to tell from that photo, but it looks more like a bulk carrier merchant than a combatant. Lol.