''Shahid Nazeri'' ( fa, شهید ناظری) is a
high-aspect-ratio twin-hull vessel operated by the
Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( fa, نیروی دریایی سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, niru-ye daryâyi-e sepâh-e pâsdârân-e enghelâb-e eslâmi; officially abbreviated NEDSA ( fa, ندسا), als ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Name
The vessel is named after Mohammad Nazeri, the first commander of the
IRGCN marines. It has been referred to as
support ship
An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense.
Auxil ...
HARTH 55 by the American military intelligence agencies.
Description
The vessel is 55 meters long with a claimed long-range support capability of 5,400 nautical miles (10,000 kilometers).
With a super-slender aluminum
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
,
she is capable of carrying some 100 troops and has also a
helipad
A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft.
While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...
for one aircraft.
''Shahid Nazeris speed is reportedly 28 knots.
Bell 206
The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...
helicopter landing on the vessel
File:شهيد محمد ناظري - مراسم الحاق شناور شهید ناظری به ناوگان دریایی - بوشهر (7).jpg, Aluminum hull of the vessel
File:شهيد محمد ناظري - مراسم الحاق شناور شهید ناظری به ناوگان دریایی - بوشهر (5).jpg, Waterline of the vessel
Operational history
''Shahid Nazeri'' was commissioned in September 2016 at
Bushehr
Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...
.
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
Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musan ...
.
The vessel did not participate in the
Exercise Velayat 95
Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...
and only made "brief stints into nearby waters".
''Shahid Nazeri'' was among Iranian vessels that participated in
Marine Security Belt Marine Security Belt, also known with the portmanteau CHIRU, is a trilateral naval exercise involving China, Iran and Russia as partners. First held in 2019, it is set to be taken place annually. History 2019–20
The first edition of the exercise ...
joint wargame with the Chinese and Russian navies, whose units were led respectively by destroyer
''Xining'' (117) and frigate
''Yaroslav Mudry'' (777).
Analyses
Kelsey D. Atherton of the ''
Popular Science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
'' opined that the vessel is "mostly for show" and "
’s unclear how the ''Nazeri'' fits into this larger speedboat-heavy strategy".
Chris Biggers commented at
Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...
that "
high-speed catamaran-like vessel could be useful" for Iran for establishing itself as a
regional power
In international relations, since the late 20thcentury, the term "regional power" has been used for a sovereign state that exercises significant power within a given geographical region.Joachim Betz, Ian Taylor"The Rise of (New) Regional Powe ...
, as well as moving operations beyond the
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...
.
Farzin Nadimi, an associate fellow with
The Washington Institute, wrote in 2020 that ''Shahid Nazeri'' could be the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
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.
References
External links
Profileat GlobalSecurity.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahid Nazeri
2016 ships
Ships of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Small waterplane area twin hull vessels
Military catamarans
Ships built in Bushehr