The fire that broke out on board the Iranian Navy ship Kharg forced its crew members to abandon it, in the first stage, and later caused the ship to sink the Gulf of Oman near southern Iran.
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Kharg is a fuel and supply ship used by the Iranian Navy, and was built in a British shipyard and delivered to Iran in 1984. The Iranians made alterations to the British model and added storage capacity, as well as a landing strip for helicopters on deck. The Kharg, throughout its years of service, was the Iranian Navy's main vessel, and was not equipped with advanced cruise missiles. Its operational capabilities were unimpressive.
In February 2011, while I was serving as commander of the Israeli Navy, the Iranians decided to make a show of naval force and dispatched the Kharg, accompanied by other military vessels, to Latakia Port in northern Syria supposedly to conduct naval maneuvers with the Syrian Navy. That was a challenge to Israel and the US, a display of prowess to prove that Iran had a navy that could sail anywhere in the world. The Iranians intended to leave their boats in the area for an extended period of time, but technical problems and logistics issues forced them to sail back to Iran in March of that year.
We kept tabs on the Iranian ships as they entered the Red Sea, and then the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. The Kharg left the Suez Canal and sailed north along Israel's coastline, in international waters. It was clear to us that the Iranians would use the Kharg's trip to deliver missiles and weapons to Syria, but we never had sufficient grounds under international law to attack it. At that time, drilling and infrastructure work was taking place at the Tamar gas field in Israel's territorial waters (which had not yet been declared as such), and there were drilling rigs and ships in our territorial waters for that purpose. The Kharg sailed very close to one of the rigs, and we took care to secure all the maritime activity along the Kharg's route.
The tracking of the Kharg's progress northward was carried out through various means, throughout the night, to make sure it was truly heading for the Syrian port. The Israeli Navy was on alert and prepared to respond to any scenario. Obviously, the Kharg knew we were following it closely, and there were no incidents. The next morning, I received a close-up image of the Kharg positioned in the sights of one of the Israeli Navy vessels that had been following it. We really had been ready for any scenario. On its return sail, the Kharg was also subject to our surveillance, and that journey also passed without incident.
There isn't a single sailor in the world who would be happy at the sight of a ship on fire or sinking, even if it belongs to their biggest enemy. We, too, look on these images with sadness, and hope that ships will be able to sail safely and dock safely.
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