Iran's largest naval ship, the Kharg, sank on Wednesday morning after fire swept through the vessel from bow to stern.
State-affiliated media, including the Tasnim news agency, published video footage from the rescue effort.
All crew members were rescued from the 207-metre long vessel, according to reports.
Fire reportedly broke out at about 2.25am and quickly grew out of control. The ship was abandoned in the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian port of Jask.
The loss of the Kharg leaves Iran without a second support ship, after damage to the MV Saviz, which was attacked in the Red Sea in March with limpet mines.
The Saviz did not sink, but was put out of action for an extended period after explosions caused its engine room to flood.
The Kharg has been described as a logistical support ship, carrying fuel and supplies for other vessels, as well as being able to carry helicopters.
Like many of Iran's large surface vessels, it was ageing and may have suffered maintenance problems.
The Kharg was bought from Britain in 1977 as a civilian vessel, before being adapted for the Iranian Navy in 1984.
Iran is forced to reverse-engineer spare parts for ships purchased from abroad because of international sanctions preventing the import of new components.
Iran's navy is also prone to training accidents.
In May last year, 19 Iranian sailors were killed when the Konarak was struck by an Iranian missile. The vessel had been towing a target ship for a missile test.
While the loss of the Konarak was accidental, the fate of the Kharg could prompt speculation that a foreign state had conducted a sabotage operation, following the attack on the Saviz.
The Saviz, which Iran claimed was a civilian vessel, was long thought to have had a military role.
"Saviz is, foremost, a floating armoury ship," Farzin Nadimi, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy think tank, told The National at the time.
Read more: Iran showcases new ships in Gulf of Oman
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
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Losses: 4
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The biog
Alwyn Stephen says much of his success is a result of taking an educated chance on business decisions.
His advice to anyone starting out in business is to have no fear as life is about taking on challenges.
“If you have the ambition and dream of something, follow that dream, be positive, determined and set goals.
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Mr Stephen sells his luxury fragrances at selected perfumeries around the UAE, including the House of Niche Boutique in Al Seef.
He relaxes by spending time with his family at home, and enjoying his wife’s India cooking.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
