The largest ship in the Iranian navy sank in the Gulf of Oman Wednesday after efforts to put out a fire failed, but the crew safely disembarked, the navy said.
The fleet replenishment tanker Kharg had caught fire on Tuesday near the port of Jask on the Gulf of Oman, the navy said, adding that firefighting efforts had gone on for 20 hours before the ship went down.
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 Kharg as a “training ship.” Fars published video of thick, black smoke rising from the ship early Wednesday morning.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs Inc. analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Kharg off to the west of Jask on Tuesday.
The Kharg serves as one of a few vessels in the Iranian navy capable of providing replenishment at sea for its other ships. It also can lift heavy cargo and serve as a launch point for helicopters.
Iranian officials offered no cause for the fire aboard the Kharg. However, in April, Iran said one of its vessels, the Saviz, had been targeted in the Red Sea, after media reports said the ship had been attacked with limpet mines.
It was the latest in a reported series of attacks on Israeli- and Iranian-owned cargo ships since late February in which the two arch-enemies accused each other of responsibility.
Last year, an Iranian warship accidentally struck another with a missile during an exercise, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others.
