Several people were hospitalized with minor injuries after the Iranian naval frigate Sahand capsized while being repaired in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Tehran’s state-run news agency IRNA on July 6.
The 1,300-ton destroyer “lost its balance” after water infiltrated the ship’s tanks during the repair process, IRNA reported. The report states that efforts were ongoing to bring the vessel back to its position. It remains unclear why the ship was being repaired.
The Sahand destroyer, named after a mountain in northern Iran, took six years to build and was launched into the Persian Gulf in December 2018.
The Iranian navy previously described the 315-foot vessel as “the most advanced frigate in Western Asia,” equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft batteries, and sophisticated radar and radar-evading capabilities.
Regional Tensions
Tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have risen since the start of the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’s large-scale attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.The Iranian-backed Houthis have continued targeting commercial ships in the region in response to the Israeli military campaign against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The Houthis have targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones during their campaign, which has killed a total of four sailors. They have seized one vessel and sunk two since November 2023.
The MV Tutor is the second ship sunk by the Houthis in three months, following the sinking of the UK-owned Rubymar in the Red Sea on March 2. That vessel was struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile.
The Houthis stated that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States, or the UK, although many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the Israel–Hamas war.
