Most of the Iranian Navy is Tied Up in Bandar Abbas

In contrast with some periods recently when Iran felt itself under threat and dispersed its naval assets, a survey of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (Nedaja) vessels tied up in the Bandar Abbas Naval Harbour on November 14 showed that most of the Iranian fleet was in port.

Bandar Abbas is the headquarters of the Nedaja’s Southern Fleet and its subordinate 1st Naval Region, but is the homeport of almost all the Nedaja’s larger ships. There are fast attack craft and patrol boats based at Bushehr and at Chah Bahar, as well as smaller ports on islands within the Gulf and along the eastern coast overlooking the Gulf of Oman, but most of these deployments are supported by vessels rotating out of Bandar Abbas.

Of an inventory of three Kilo-class submarines, one appears tied up in its normal berth on the eastern side of the basin and a second is believed to be hidden under an awning undergoing an overhaul in a dry dock. The third Kilo is believed to be out of the water under repair elsewhere. The single Fateh Class coastal submarine is alongside, as are 9 of the 15 strong squadron of Ghadir Class midget submarines.

The Nedaja has an operational complement of three Alvand Class frigates and three home-built Moudge Class frigates developed from the original Vosper Thorneycroft Alvand design. Two Alvand and one Moudge Class are alongside, whilst a further frigate will be maintaining the permanent Nedaja presence in the Red Sea, currently designated the 100th Flotilla. A further two Moudge Class frigates can be seen under repair in the harbor, one alongside and the other in a floating dock. These may be either the two Moudge Class frigates (IRINS Shiraz and IRINS Taftan, optimized for intelligence collection operations) which Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced in October would be joining the fleet shortly, or one may be IRINS Sahand (F74) under repair after having capsized in the naval basin in July. This leaves therefore probably only one frigate out and unaccounted for – and the rest in the Bandar Abbas Naval Harbour.

Three out of four Hengam Class Landing Ships are in the basin, as are three out of six Delvar Class fleet resupply auxiliaries. The Nedaja’s long-range tanker and resupply vessel IRINS Makran, which under the flag of the 86th Flotilla completed a circumnavigation of the globe alongside IRINS Dena (F75) in May 2023, is tied up at its usual jetty off the outer harbour mole. Of note, the IRGC Navy (Nesda)’s largest vessel, the converted tanker Shahid Bagheri (C110- 6) which is fitted with a 500-foot angled flight deck, was also seen on 14 November, under repair at the ISOICC shipyard 15 miles west of the Bandar Abbas Naval Harbour.

Oversight of the Bandar Abbas Naval Harbour can give a clear picture of the operational stance of the Nedaja – and their assessment or expectation of imminent threat. The Nedaja appears to be assuming that with the presidential handover looming, neither the United States nor Israel pose an active threat during the interregnum.