Iranian “fleet” to patrol international waters

Iran talks of numbered fleets like cheap hotels talk about how many rooms they have. If you start numbering from 26 or 27 then people might not realise how few ships you have.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy currently has 3 Alvand-class (Vosper Thornycroft Mk5) frigates, 3 Moudge-class (reverse-engineered Mk5) frigates, and 2 Bayandor-class (US PF-103) corvettes. From this they conjure a 27th Fleet.

It was also a nice touch by the Iranian media to claim the the Karg is a “helicopter carrier” instead of an Ol-class replenishment oiler. Bless ’em… they mean well.

Iran naval fleet to secure oil tankers in international waters

File photo shows Iran’s Kharg helicopter carrier.

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the Islamic Republic’s 27th naval fleet has been dispatched to international waters.

“The 27th naval fleet of the Navy has set sail for high seas in order to secure commercial vessels and oil tankers of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Sayyari said in a Tuesday interview.

The naval fleet comprises the Sabalan destroyer and Kharg helicopter carrier warship, he said.

The Iranian commander noted that the new naval fleet was dispatched after the Navy’s 26th fleet –which comprised Bandar Abbas logistic warship and Alvand destroyer — ended its mission in the Gulf of Aden and returned to Iran on Monday.

The Navy’s 26th fleet was dispatched on June 2 to patrol waters in the north of the Indian Ocean and pass through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea.

The Iranian Navy also plans to dispatch its 28th fleet to the Atlantic, Pacific or South Indian oceans in the near future.

In recent years, Iran Navy has been increasing its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.

In line with the international efforts to combat piracy, the Iranian Navy has also been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

ASH/KA

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/20/319641/iran-naval-fleet-to-secure-oil-tankers/

With friends like these… Iran and Russia plan joint naval exercise in Caspian Sea

It would be interesting to see the Velayat (a.k.a. Jamaran 2) which is the Iranian Navy’s newest Moudge-class frigate, currently undergoing sea trials in the Caspian Sea. These appear to be an Iranian reverse-engineered copy of the Vosper Thornycroft Mk 5. The original design dates to the 1960s and a batch of 4 were built for the old Shah’s navy as the Saam-class between 1968 and 1969. They were renamed the Alvand-class in post-revolutionary Iran. It seems the Iranians think enough of this 45+ year old design to reverse-engineer it and start a domestic production line.

Iran, Russia Plan Joint Naval Drills in Caspian Sea

Iran, Russia Plan Joint Naval Drills in Caspian Sea

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and Russia plan to conduct joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea before the end of 2013, a senior Russian Navy commander announced on Saturday.

Deputy Commander of Russia’s Caspian Flotilla Nikolai Yakubovsky made the announcement after meeting with the Commander of the Iranian navy flotilla that has been dispatched to the Russian port city of Astrakhan on Wednesday.

The two countries conducted their first joint naval maneuvers in the Caspian Sea in 2009. A total of 30 Iranian and Russian warships participated in the joint exercises.

Iran and Russia have recently expanded their military cooperation and interactions. The Iranian Navy sent a flotilla of warships to Astrakhan on Wednesday.

“Two missile-launching warships which have been manufactured by the young Iranian experts and joined the Navy’s fleet in 2003 and 2006 were for the first time dispatched to the Russian port of Astrakhan in the form of a flotilla,” Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Admiral Siyavash Jarreh announced on Wednesday.

He further mentioned “consolidation of the friendly relations between Iran and Russia” as the goal of the Iranian flotilla’s mission, adding that the Navy also aims to display the might and increased knowledge and experience of its young personnel.

According to the Admiral, the Iranian naval forces are due to visit the port and military centers of Astrakhan, and also take part in meetings with senior military officials and commanders in Russia.

A detachment of the Russian Pacific Fleet warships docked in Iran’s Southern port city of Bandar Abbas in mid April. On April 21, a group of Russian Navy warships docked at Bandar Abbas after a long journey from the Pacific Ocean.

The Russian fleet, comprised of Admiral Panteleyev anti-submarine destroyer and two logistic warships of Peresvet and Admiral Novelskoy with a total number of 712 crews, entered the Army’s first naval zone in Bandar Abbas on April 21.

The fleet, which comprised Admiral Panteleyev anti-submarine destroyer and the logistic battleships Peresvet and Admiral Nevelskoi vessel with a crew of 712, entered the Iranian naval zone in a bid to further strengthen relations between Tehran and Moscow and promote bilateral naval cooperation to maintain maritime security.

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has been increasing its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly asserted that its overseas naval presence is meant to convey a message of peace and friendship to other countries.

Iranian officials and commanders have repeatedly underlined that all military exercises and trainings of the Iranian Armed Forces are merely meant to serve deterrent purposes.

“When the enemy observes that our Armed Forces are constantly in wargame zones and their fingers are kept on the trigger, it will not dare to invade the Islamic Iran’s borders,” Pourdastan said in January, underlining the significance of military trainings for boosting the country’s deterrent power.

As regards the Iranian Armed Forces’ military exercises, Pourdastan described wargames as “very important” to the Iranian military, and said drills have provided the Iranian military forces, including the Army Ground Force, with an opportunity to test its achievements and remove deficiencies for future missions.

Late in December 2011, the Iranian Army’s Navy staged 10-day wargames, dubbed as Velayat 90, to test its latest achievements in the fields of missile technology and sub-surface vessels.

The wargames were conducted in an area stretching from the East of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden.

Navy conducted test-firing long-range missiles from coasts and navy vessels.

Different types of short and long-range coast-to-sea, surface-to-surface, surface-to-air missiles were tested by Iranian vessels. Iranian submarines also launched smart torpedoes.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920408001094

UNIFIL Maritime Task Force scheduled changes 11 July 2013

On 11 July 2013, the Brazilian frigate BNS União (F45) will take over from BNS Constituição (F42) as Brazil’s contribution to the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force.

União and Constituição are both Niterói-class frigates built to the Vosper Thornycroft Mk 10 design.

Constituição was built for the Marinha do Brazil at the Thornycroft yard in Woolton, Hants. (now Babcock Marine) and completed in 1978.

União was built under licence at Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro and completed in 1980.

The UNIFIL Maritime Task Force has been deployed in the Mediterranean since October 2006 within the mandate of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). The task force the Lebanese Navy in monitoring its territorial waters, securing the Lebanese coastline and preventing the unauthorized entry of arms or related material by sea into Lebanon.