Konarak vessel incident

File:Konarak burning.png

Konarak burning after being hit by the missile fired by Jamaran.

The Konarak vessel incident was a friendly fire incident in the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy on May 10, 2020 where an anti-ship missile fired from the Iranian frigate Jamaran hit the support vessel Konarak. The incident happened during a war game of the Iranian Navy in the Gulf of Oman. During this incident, 19 crew of the Konarak were killed with 15 wounded. The Konarak was damaged totally and its wreckage towed to Chabahar Port.

Background

On 10 May 2020, the ship was struck by a C-802 Noor missile fired from the Jamaran when in the Strait of Hormuz. Official Iranian TV initially reported one fatality in the incident, but this was later revised to 19 killed and 15 injured. The Konarak was involved as a tender, setting out targets for target practice for missiles from Jamaran. The Konarak reportedly failed to distance itself sufficiently from the target prior to the launch and was struck by a missile. The missile may have automatically locked onto Konarak as the largest target or else been set as the target by human error. After the incident, Konarak was recovered to port to undergo a "technical inspection". Footage published by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB showed the ship down heavily by the bow with its superstructure devastated and smoke visible from fires.