IRIS Makran

History
Name
  • Beta (2013–2020)
  • Al Buhaira (2010–2013)
Port of registryMonrovia, Liberia
BuilderSumitomo Heavy Industries, Japan
Yard number1354
Launched10 September 2009
Completed8 March 2010
Identification
History
Iran
NameMakran
NamesakeMakran
OperatorIslamic Republic of Iran Navy
Commissioned13 January 2021
Refit2020
HomeportBandar Abbas
IdentificationPennant number: 441
StatusIn active service
General characteristics (as built)
TypeCrude oil tanker
Tonnage
  • 55,909 GT
  • 105,319 DWT
Length
  • 229.6 m (753 ft 3 in) LOA
  • 217.8 m (714 ft 7 in) LPP
Beam42.03 m (137 ft 11 in)
Propulsion1 × Propeller
Speed14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
General characteristics (after modification)
TypeForward Base Ship
Displacement121,000 metric tons full load
Length230.13 m (755 ft 0 in)
Beam42.03 m (137 ft 11 in)
Height21.5 m (70 ft 6 in)
Endurance1,000 days
Aircraft carried6-7 helicopters
Aviation facilitiesHelipad

IRIS Makran (Persian: مکران) is the first and only forward base ship of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, in service with its Southern Fleet since 2021 and named after a coastal region in southeastern Iran.

A former crude oil tanker converted into a warship, she was known with the tentative title Khalij-e Fars (lit.'Persian Gulf', a name reserved for the lead ship of Project Loghman) before her name being changed to the current. Though not officially acknowledged, TankerTrackers, a firm that tracks maritime traffic, has identified her as a Japanese-built ship completed in 2010, previously named Beta and earlier Al Buhaira, and whose AIS signal was last detected in 2019 near United Arab Emirates.[1] Its intended task/purpose is to support naval units in remote waters, especially in the North Indian Ocean, the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Red Sea.

  1. ^ "Iran Unveils its Largest Naval Vessel Yet - A Converted Tanker", The Maritime Executive, 14 January 2013, retrieved 14 January 2013