Iranian cargo ship sinks in Caspian Sea

Azerbaijan rescue services have evacuated the crew of an Iranian-flagged dry cargo ship as it was sinking near the Azeri port city of Lankaran, local authorities reported. The incident happened in the western Caspian Sea.

The 600-ton merchant vessel Shabahang sent a distress call on Friday, prompting the dispatch of two rescue helicopters and a patrol boat to the scene, Azerbaijan’s National Maritime Center reported.

All nine crew members were rescued as the ship was sinking.

The ‘Shabahang’ is a general cargo ship built in 1993, which has recently been hauling cargo between the Iranian port of Bandar-e Anzali and Russia’s Astrakhan, according to traffic records.

The incident happened amid close attention to Iran’s maritime traffic due to Britain’s detention of a tanker with Iranian oil and the apparently retaliatory detention of a British-flagged tanker by Iran. The Caspian Sea, however, is an inland body of water not connected to global sea routes. It’s surrounded from all sides by four nations: Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!