Iranian Flotilla Makes Port Call in South Africa

By Staff, Agencies

The Iranian Navy’s 86^th flotilla of warships, which has broken the record for the distance an Iranian flotilla has sailed in the international waters, has made a port call in South Africa’s Cape Town on its way back to home after a long mission.

The Iranian flotilla, comprising the Dena destroyer and Makran forward base ship, berthed at Cape Town on Friday and received a welcome from Iran’s ambassador to South Africa and a number of African political and military officials.

The Iranian flotilla has broken the record by traveling over 51,000 kilometers in a single mission.

Last year, the 75^th flotilla, including the Sahand and Makran warships, had set a record of navigation for 45,000 kilometers after a trip to Saint Petersburg in Russia.

The 86th flotilla set sail from south of Iran in early autumn with the purpose of circumnavigating the world. The two vessels of the flotilla recently berthed at Brazil’s southeastern port city of Rio de Janeiro.

Dena is a Mowj-class warship that joined the Iranian Navy in June 2021. The military vessel is equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles, torpedoes and naval cannons.

The other vessel of the flotilla is Makran, a forward base ship weighing 121,000 tons.

The oil-tanker-turned-warship can carry five helicopters and is employed for providing logistical support for the combat warships.

The Iranian Navy has set up three ocean commands supervising naval missions to the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.