Largest Iranian navy ship sinks after catching fire

TEHRAN: The largest Iranian navy ship sank after it caught fire while on a “training mission” off a strategic port near the head of the Gulf, the navy said.

The British-built fleet replenishment vessel named Kharg, caught fire on Tuesday off the port of Jask on the Gulf of Oman.

The fire broke out in “one of the systems” of the ship, a navy statement said without elaborating.

Firefighting efforts continued “for 20 hours” before the ship went down.

It was in “domestic waters” during “a training mission”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted the navy’s head of public relations Behzad Jahanian as saying.

The port city of Jask, near which the Kharg sank, lies close to the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint at the head of the Gulf through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

Last year, an Iranian warship was hit by friendly fire during a naval exercise off Jask, killing the 19 sailors onboard.