Iran launches new modernized destroyer 'Bayandor'

Iran launches new modernized destroyer 'Bayandor'.(TI).

Iran on Tuesday launched its overhauled and modernized destroyer named Bayandor in the Southern waters of the country in the presence of Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi and Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Fars news agency reported.

Army officials said the Iranian Navy's power of safeguarding the country's territorial waters as well as maintaining security in regional and international waters will increase after the launch of Bayandor.

Overhauling the main engines, heat exchangers and fuel and oil systems as well as optimizing the monitoring control systems are among the measures adopted before launching the destroyer.

Navy experts have also mounted a fire control system for the destroyer's weapons, a 76-mm and a 40-mm canons and a surface-to-surface Nour (Light) missile system on the destroyer.

In May, Sayyari had declared that Iran can use the destroyer to carry out missions in international waters in the future.

He said the destroyer is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment such as missile, torpedo, artillery, sonar and other information and communication systems.

Iranian defense ministry officials had said earlier that the third generation of the home-made vessel, Jamaran-3 destroyer, will come into operation by the end of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2013 - March 20, 2014).Read the full story here.

Video - U.S. Navy Leads Massive Anti-Mine Exercises in Persian Gulf.

U.S. Navy Leads Massive Anti-Mine Exercises in Persian Gulf.HT: UskowiOnIran.U.S. and 40 other allied navies gathered in Bahrain today to begin massive anti-mine exercises in the Persian Gulf. The International Mine Countermeasure Exercise (IMCMEX) will run through 30 May. The drills appear to be tailored to keep the shipping lanes at the Strait of Hormuz open in case of any future hostilities involving Iran.

A U.S. Navy statement released today said the IMCMEX will begin with onshore training and then move to the Gulf for maneuvers including mine-sweeping and search-and-seizure operations.

“We are very pleased to see that more than 40 nations have joined us here to take part in this opportunity to enhance international naval capability to preserve freedom of navigation in international waterways,” said Vice Admiral John W. Miller, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. Fifth Fleet. “If 41 nations are willing to come here and practice MCM, just imagine how effective the global mine response would be if someone actually put mines in the water.” (Xinhua, 6 May) More than 100 divers, 35 ships and 18 unmanned submarines will take part in the drills.Read the full story here.

Obama: "Iraq is a Success" - Iran, Iraq navies sign cooperation agreement.

Obama: "Iraq is a Success" - Iran, Iraq navies sign cooperation agreement.(PressTV).The agreement was signed on Tuesday by the IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi and Commander of the Iraqi Navy Vice Admiral Ali Hussain Ali. The document calls for expanding cooperation among the two countries’ navies, arranging mutual visits for naval forces and holding joint drills.

Fadavi described the agreement as a beginning for more cooperation between the two countries in the north of the Persian Gulf region.

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

In November 2012, Russia's Caspian Flotilla Commander Rear Admiral Sergei Alekminski called for closer cooperation between Iranian and Russian naval forces. He said a fleet of Russian ships and frigates would pay a visit to an Iranian port in 2013.

Iran Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in February 2012 that the naval forces of a number of neighboring countries have expressed desire to send fleets to Iran and Tehran is ready to welcome them.

Iran Navy has also sent vessels to the Indian Ocean and dispatched two ships via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in February 2011.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence. Hmmmm.....Obama: If We Work Hard, Afghanistan Could Be a Success...Like Iraq!Read the full story here.

Iran to commission submarines and hovercrafts to country's Navy.

Iran to commission submarines and hovercrafts to country's Navy.(TI).As part of Navy Week in Iran, the country will commission two Ghadir-class submarines and two hovercrafts to the national Navy, IRNA reported. Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that Iranian experts have also build special submarine simulators, which will be used to prepare for real submarines. In September, upon the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran has released new military submarine "Tareq 901" into water in Bandar Abbas port, IRINN Tv channel reported. Tareq 901 is a three Kilo class, Russian type 877EKM, submarine which was delivered to the Iranian Navy from 1992 to 1997. 
Iran's submarine force currently consists of Russian Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines (Tareq 901, Noor 902, Yunes 903), one 500-ton Nahang and four 120-ton Yono-class (also referred to as Qadir or Ghadir-class) midget submarines.
Iran also released "Sahand" frigate into water, along with the submarine. This particular Sahand frigate was manufactured by Iranian engineers. The original Iranian frigate Sahand, a British-made Vosper Mark V class frigate (also known as Alvand class frigate), was commissioned as part of a four-ship order. The ship was originally called Faramarz, named after a character in Ferdosi's Shahnameh. However after the Islamic Revolution it was renamed Sahand, after the Sahand volcano. Sahand frigate is of second class among Jamaran destroyer frigates. The construction of Sahand has been completed ahead of schedule, in 9 months. It is planned to equip the frigate with modern defense technology as well as special stealth capabilities. Both the submarine and frigate were released upon the order of Khamenei, in the Bandar Abbas port of Iran.Read the full story here.

"FORWARD" - U.S. Army Vessel Grounds itself Near Kodiak to Avoid Sinking.

"FORWARD" - U.S. Army Vessel Grounds itself Near Kodiak to Avoid Sinking.(KTUU).By By Matthew Simon, Chris Klint and AP.KODIAK, Alaska—

A U.S. ArmyReserve vessel that struck an object and began taking on water late Friday night grounded on a small island near Kodiak to avoid sinking, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

According to Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Grant DeVuyst and radio station KMXT, the crew of the landing craft Monterrey, assigned to the 481st Transportation Company in Vallejo, Calif., placed a mayday call after the vessel hit Humpback Rock in Chiniak Bay at 10:16 p.m.

Maj. Annmarie Daneker, an Army Reserve media relations officer, said the Monterrey’s crew of 16 to 18 people subsequently grounded on Puffin Island at the request of the Coast Guard.

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter launched at 10:44 p.m. to assist the Monterrey, and the good Samaritan fishing vessels Resolution and Peggy Joe also responded to the scene. Two Monterrey crew members with minor injuries were transported to Kodiak aboard the Peggy Joe.

The Coast Guard says the Monterrey may be carrying up to 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Two tanks aboard the 174-foot landing craft were reportedly damaged and leaking 15,291 gallons of fuel, and the Coast Guard has contracted with Alaska Chadux Corp. to contain and clean up the leak.

DeVuyst said Alaska Chadux’s initial steps include setting up three containment booms around the Monterrey, in the area of the spill and around the mouth of the Buskin River. The firm has also contracted a skimming vessel to clean up oil between the Monterrey’s initial impact point and the site of its grounding.

A report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation suggested that the damaged tank had completely emptied. Four response vessels were on scene as of noon Saturday, with an estimated 3,000 total feet of containment boom deployed so far.

In a Saturday statement from the Coast Guard, Daneker thanked those who responded to the grounding.Read the full story here.

'Iran renaming ships to circumvent arms, nuclear sanctions'

'Iran renaming ships to circumvent arms, nuclear sanctions'.(JPost).Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines has renamed 90 of its 123 ships since 2008 in efforts to dodge sanctions, study finds; "Iranian ships are being shuffled like a deck of cards in a Las Vegas casino.”Using a series of legal loopholes, Iran has renamed over a dozen cargo ships in the past year as it seeks to circumvent sanctions on arms transfers and the supply of nuclear-related equipment, according to a new study released on Monday.The report was published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and included an analysis of reported incidents of illicit arms and drug transfers in recent years. Last March, Navy commandos seized the Victoria, which was transporting 50 tons of weaponry - including advanced radar-guided anti-ship missiles - to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ship was owned by a German company and was flying a Liberian flag.The report, Griffiths said, was the culmination of two years of work by SIPRI during which it created the Vessel and Maritime Incident Database which contains information on countries and shipping lines suspected of illicit activity.Read the full story here.