Tehran – IRIS Kharg, one of the largest Iranian naval ships, caught fire and sank on Wednesday. The Iranian investigation agencies are searching for the cause of the fire, but no credible reason has been found till now. This incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz, the route for the highest crude oil movement. Tension was created in the region on Wednesday due to the incident. The fire started on Kharg, a 679 metres long support ship from the Iranian navy, at 2.25 am on Wednesday. The vessel was near the Iranian port of Jask, in the Gulf of Oman, at this time.
There were 400 naval personnel, including cadets, on the ship when the ship caught fire. The Iranian navy informed that Kharg was on a training voyage for the Iranian naval cadets. The soldiers made frantic efforts to control the fire. Photographs and videos of these have become viral on social media. The Iranian navy informed that even after hours of efforts, the fire could not be brought under control. After that, the ship sank in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday morning. All the 400 personnel on the vessel were rescued before that. A minimum of 20 soldiers were injured in the whole incident.
The ship, built by the United Kingdom in 1977, was inducted into the Iranian navy in 1984. This ship was being used only for refuelling the Iranian naval vessels and transporting heavy goods. Kharg had a provision to deploy helicopters. Therefore, the sinking of Kharg comes as a major shock to the Iranian navy.
The exact reason for the fire could not be found. But the Iranian military informed a local news agency that the fire started in the engine room.
The Iranian military informed that the steel of the ship melted and fell into the sea. The Iranian military has not given a reaction whether this was an accident or sabotage. This incident is being viewed against the background of the increasing tension between Israel and Iran in the last few months.
It is claimed that there is an undeclared war being fought between Iran and Israel in the regions from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Incidents of explosion followed by fire on freight as well as naval ships from both the countries have been reported. Israel has accused of two marine mine explosions on the freight ship deployed in the Persian Gulf region. At the same time, there had been rocket attacks on an Israeli ship sailing towards India. At the same time, suspicious fires have been reported on the Iranian boats in the Red Sea and the Syrian marine region. Accusations have been made that Israel is behind these attacks.
