(RepublicanDaily.org) – An Iranian destroyer named the Sahand rolled over onto its side while in port near the Strait of Hormuz recently while it was undergoing repairs. The sinking cost the lives of two shipboard officers and two other people, according to state media.
Iran’s state news agency INRA referred to a statement from the country’s navy, reporting that the Sahand was docked at a wharf for repairs when it “lost its balance due to water ingress.” This appear to mean the ship sprang a leak and capsized. The navy said the ship is “being returned to balance quickly.”
The ship was under construction for six years, and is named after a northern Iran mountain. At 1,300 tons, the Sahand is fitted out with missiles that can hit land or air targets. It also boasts highly capable radar and radar-avoidance technology. The ship was launched into the Persian Gulf at the end of 2018.
Media in Iran describe the capsizing as an accident, but some observers wonder if it was caused by a cyber-attack originating in Iran’s enemy Israel. Security analyst Ronen Solomon said the Sahand is vulnerable to such attacks as it is capable of being controlled remotely, making it susceptible to hacking. Solomon added that Iran itself developed hacking techniques against Western cargo ships in 2021.
Israel might be motivated to do so given that the two countries have been exchanging missile and air attacks since the Israeli war on Hamas that was sparked by Hamas’ infiltration of Israel and slaughter of thousands on October 7, 2023. In 2020, Israel did launch a cyber-attack on Iran’s port of Shahid Rajaee to get revenge for Iran’s attempt to do the same thing to an Israeli port.
The Iranian navy has had some bad luck over the years. The destroyer Damavand sank in early 2018 after hitting an artificial protective barrier in the Caspian Sea. In 2021, the Kharg—at the time Iran’s largest naval ship—went to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman after catching fire.
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