SARVIN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Container ship converted into drone carrier

Iran is converting the 'Sarvin' into a drone carrier named 'Shahid Bagheri. The ship is rebuilt at the ISOICO shipyard near Bandar Abbas and is now controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Among the modifications is an increased deck with a runway of around 170 meters length. The ship can accommodate a large fleet of long-range fixed-wing drones. The vessel is expected to cause disruptions to vessels in the Arabian Sea. Iran has been involved in actively supporting the Houthis by providing resources, funding, and training. Iran has been assisting the Houthi Rebels in Yemen in targeting passing merchant ships for the past three months. Around 35 merchant vessels have been targeted by the Houthi drones and missiles so far.

Iranian container vessel’s owner pays pollution fine

The local shipping agent for the "Sarvin" on March 4, 2018, handed over a check for NT$1.5 million (US$51,150) to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to cover a fine for the illegal discharge of waste fuel off the coast of Kaohsiung in October 2017. One of the EU’s Sentinel-1 satellites captured images of the ship at 5:52am on Oct. 9 that seemed to be discharging waste fuel off the coast of Kaohsiung. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was asked to help interpret the image. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Harbor and Marine Technology Center also helped identify the ship through its automatic identification system. Judging from the satellite image, the ship discharged about five tonnes of waste oil for at least two or three hours, leaving a pollution track that was almost 60 km long. Despite the scope of the pollution, it did not require much clean-up work, as the pollutants had been carried away by fast-moving currents and evaporated, a one-week monitoring mission determined. The EPA decided to fine the ship’s owner NT$1.5 million for contravening Article 29 of the Marine Pollution Control Act, but officials spent months trying to track down the owner. After learning the ship would arrive at the Port of Kaohsiung in the morning, the EPA called a meeting with Coast Guard Administration and ministry officials to organize an inspection visit once the ship was moored. The Taiwanese agent for the ship handed over the check at a meeting in Kaohsiung with EPA and other officials. The ship’s corporate executives must also attend an eight-hour session on protecting the environment.

Iranian Navy fleet foiled pirate attack on DANDLE

The Iranian Navy fleet foiled a pirate attack on a cargo ship with timely action in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. According to a statement issued by the Navy's Public Relations office, Iran's 15th fleet of warships saved Dandle cargo ship from an attack by 7 Somali pirate speedboats at around 16:00 hours local time on Wednesday. The statement added that one and a half hours later, Dandle came under a second attack by 16 other speedboats.