Satellite image shows Iran's largest naval vessel, a tanker-turned-warship, smoking in port

"The imagery, captured on Monday by the US commercial imaging firm Planet Labs PBC and obtained by Business Insider, shows a massive plume of smoke rising from what analysts identified as the IRINS Makran in the harbor at Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz and the Makran's home port."

"Iran converted the Makran, an oil tanker, into a forward base ship in 2020 and commissioned the vessel into the navy the following year. Technically not a combat ship, it is still Iran's largest warship and can carry roughly a dozen helicopters."

"The deck can accommodate missile and rocket artillery launchers, as well as vertical takeoff and landing drones. The vessel has completed several long-distance voyages, including one that circled the globe."

Satellite imagery captured Monday by Planet Labs PBC reveals Iran's biggest warship, the IRINS Makran, engulfed in flames at Bandar Abbas military port near the Strait of Hormuz. The Makran is a former oil tanker converted into a forward base ship capable of carrying approximately a dozen helicopters and equipped with missile, rocket artillery launchers, and vertical takeoff and landing drones. US Central Command reported destroying all 11 Iranian ships in the Gulf of Oman, though unclear if this includes the Makran. Additional satellite imagery from Sunday showed destroyed vessels and damaged buildings at the Konarak naval base. Iran commissioned the Makran into its navy in 2021 after converting it from civilian use.

Read at Business Insider