Iran's Homegrown Research Oceangoing Ship in Testing Stages
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's first domestically-made oceangoing research vessel is being tested and will come into service soon, the head of the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science (INIOAC) announced.
The ship has been launched into water and currently is passing various tests off the coast, Nasser Hajizadeh Zaker said on Monday.
Generally speaking, all of the tests on the oceangoing ship will take about two or three months, he said, adding that he hopes the vessel will come into operation by the end of this summer.
Earlier in February, former head of INIOAC expected that the official coming into service of the vessel would occur in spring or summer.
Back in 2009, "Iran-Arak", the country's first oceangoing ship produced by Iran Ship Building and Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO), was launched. It weighs over 7000 tons and is able to carry over 30,000 tons of cargo or 2,200 TEU.
Iran-Arak can accelerate to 32 knots (59.3 km/h) and is able to sail 25 days non-stop. The vessel, which has cost $50 million to construct, has a length of 185 meters, a beam of 30 meters, and a draft of 10 meters and uses more than 16.7 MW to reach 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h).
The second home-made oceangoing cargo ship, named “Iran Shahr-E-Kord”, was also tested successfully in May 2014. With a length of 187 meters and a width of 30 meters, the ship has the capacity to carry 2,200 containers.
