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| History | |
|---|---|
 Iran | |
| Name | Shahid Nazeri |
| Namesake | Mohammad Nazeri |
| Operator | Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
| Builder | Shahid Mahallati Shipyard, Bushehr |
| Commissioned | 13 September 2016 |
| Homeport | Bandar Abbas, Iran |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In active service |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | ~800 tonnes |
| Length | 55.0 m (180 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power | Diesel engine |
| Propulsion | 2 × Shafts |
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h) |
| Range | 5,400 nmi (10,000 km) |
| Aircraft carried | 1 × helicopter |
Shahid Nazeri ( Persian: شهید ناظری) is a high-aspect-ratio twin-hull vessel operated by the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.
Name
The vessel is named after Mohammad Nazeri, the first commander of the IRGCN marines. It has been referred to as support ship HARTH 55 by the American military intelligence agencies. [1]
Description
The vessel is 55 meters long with a claimed long-range support capability of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 kilometers). [2] With a super-slender aluminum hull, [2] she is capable of carrying some 100 troops and has also a helipad for one aircraft. [3] Shahid Nazeri's speed is reportedly 28 knots. [3]
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A Bell 206 helicopter landing on the vessel -
Aluminum hull of the vessel -
Waterline of the vessel
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Operational history
Shahid Nazeri was commissioned in September 2016 at Bushehr. [4]
In April 2017, satellite imagery suggested that Shahid Nazeri was relocated to an operational naval base at the headquarters of 1st Naval Region in Bandar Abbas. [3] The vessel did not participate in the Exercise Velayat 95 and only made "brief stints into nearby waters". [3] Shahid Nazeri was among Iranian vessels that participated in Marine Security Belt joint wargame with the Chinese and Russian navies, whose units were led respectively by destroyer Xining (117) and frigate Yaroslav Mudry (777). [5]
Analyses
Kelsey D. Atherton of the Popular Science opined that the vessel is "mostly for show" and "[i]t’s unclear how the Nazeri fits into this larger speedboat-heavy strategy". [4] Chris Biggers commented at Bellingcat that "[a] high-speed catamaran-like vessel could be useful" for Iran for establishing itself as a regional power, as well as moving operations beyond the Strait of Hormuz. [3] Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, wrote in 2020 that Shahid Nazeri could be the flagship of the IRGC's naval forces because it has not been deployed for long-range missions and spends most of its time moored at the command headquarters. [2]
References
- ^ Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies (PDF), Office of Naval Intelligence, February 2017, p. 34, ISBN 978-0160939686
- ^ a b c Nadimi, Farzin (18 June 2020), "Iran Signals a Toughened Stance by Adding to Its Naval Arsenal", The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (PolicyWatch), no. 3335, retrieved 15 July 2020
- ^ a b c d e Biggers, Chris (27 April 2017), "Shahid Nazeri Deploys Near the Strait", Bellingcat, retrieved 15 July 2020
- ^ a b Atherton, Kelsey D. (14 September 2016), "Iran Wants To Make Its Navy Seem More Powerful With This New Ship", Popular Science, retrieved 15 July 2020
- ^ Haider, Syed Fazl-e (17 January 2020), "The Strategic Implications of Chinese-Iranian-Russian Naval Drills in the Indian Ocean", China Brief, 20 (1), Jamestown Foundation, retrieved 15 July 2020
External links
- Profile at GlobalSecurity.org