On June 2, 2021, Iran’s largest navy warship sank in the Gulf of Oman, according to reports from numerous Iranian news agencies.
Reuters cited the Fars news agency, which quoted a Navy spokesperson, who said, “A 20-hour effort to extinguish the fire by the ship's damage control team, which were joined by firefighting crews as well as military and civilian forces from other nearby vessels, failed to save Kharg.” Fars is often described, by outlets like Reuters, as a “semi-official” news agency, often acting as a voice for the government.
“Only 20 out of the 400 people on board received minor injuries,” the spokesperson added. No cause for the fire was given.
State media reported that 33 people suffered injuries. They said that the fire on the vessel started around 2:25 a.m. (21:55 GMT) on Wednesday, near the Iranian port of Jask, where it was on a training mission. The ship was also used to resupply other ships in the fleet at sea. The Gulf of Oman connects to the Strait of Hormuz where around one-fifth of the world's oil passes.
Fars and other Iranian news media released pictures and video of thick black smoke rising from the ship. Photographs of the fire spread on social media, showing sailors wearing life jackets being evacuated from the ship.
Since late February, there have been a number of attacks on Iranian and Israeli-owned vessels. Each country has blamed the other for targeting their ships. In April 2021, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said one of the country's ships had been attacked in the Red Sea, though the government did not identify who was behind it.
Major news agencies are citing both official and semi-official Iranian news sources for this story. Given that this is being widely reported on most major outlets with video of the fire, we rate this claim as “True.”