Iranian Navy – Auxiliaries and Other Ships

Auxiliaries and Other Ships Back to Mine Warfare Ships Forward Base Ship IRIS Makran 441 (2021) LOA 748′ / 228 m TDISP 56,000 gross tons Originally the merchant ship Al Buhaira (2010) crude oil tanker extensively modified to be Iran’s first base ship.

High-speed Catamaran

IRIS Shahid Nazeri (ca. 2018) LOA 180′ / 54.9 m TDISP about 800 tons. Built at Busherh shipyards. Not much is known about this vessel. Part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy. It can carry a light helicopter, and go as fast as 28 knots.

Forward Operating Base / Expeditionary Base Ship Shahid Roudaki (2020) LOA 500′ / 152.4 m TDISP unknown Replenishment and Resupply IRIS Kharg 431 (1984-2021) LOA 680′ / 207.2 m TDISP 33,000 tons (modified British Ol class tanker, built Swan Hunter 1978, transferred after being held back during Iranian Revolution). Caught fire and sunk on 2 June, 2021, about 12 km W of the port of Jask, Iran. Wreck still in place mid-2022.

Bandar Abbas Class Fleet Supply Ships LOA 354′ / 107.9 m TDISP 4,600 tons (2 active)

Delvar Class Support Ships LOA 210′ / 64 m TDISP 900 tons (7 active service since 1981) two variants, an ammunition ship, a water carrier, and general cargo. The water carriers have rounded sterns.

Targets Giant Fake Aircraft Carrier LOA 670′ / 204.2 m TDISP unknown (2014-2021). In our 2019 USN aircraft carriers page, we facetiously called this the USS Potemkin Maru, and added it in an “honourable mention” section, because of its resemblance to a USN supercarrier, and the original painting of “68” as its deck code (a strange reference to the USS Chester Nimitz, CVN-68). The backstory of this is it may have been originally intended to be a film prop, or that was a cover story. The target has large holes/ports in the sides that show the girder-like interior structure. We explored the history of this giant floating oddity in a July/August 2020 post on the topic. The target was attacked in 2015 and again in late July, 2020. After this second attack, it was towed back to Bandar Abbas, but now seems to have partially capsized and sunk in the immediate approaches to the harbour breakwaters, creating an obstacle to safe navigation.

Work is underway repairing the first battle damage. The carrier seems to have virtually no draft (depth in the water) so can be hauled up and worked on by regular construction cranes.

This is how she looked before the latest attacks.

As seen below, by late July the Iranians had succeeded in towing the drifting, derelict target near the breakwater that surrounds the port. Given the wrecked condition, it seems likely the strange career of what we call the USS Potemkin Maru is over.