A container vessel of unknown ownership has capsized and sunk in an Iranian port.
The Tanzania-flagged, 2,100-gt Anil (built 1989) turned over on Tuesday at a jetty in the southern terminal of Assaluyeh, the state-controlled IRNA news agency reported.
The report said the ship capsized because boxes on board were configured incorrectly at dock No. 9.
Photos showed a number of containers floating in the water at the dock, with the vessel submerged on its side, although one photo from the AP news agency showed the hull bottom facing upwards.
IRNA said rescue teams transferred the ship's crew to safety, without providing further details.
However, shipping databases seem to be split on what type of vessel the Anil is.
Equasis and VesselFinder list it as a boxship, but Clarksons, MarineTraffic and VesselsValue have it as a 3,514-cbm LPG carrier.
The Anil certainly seems to have started life as a gas ship.
It was first owned by Italy’s Mediterranea di Navigazione, then sold to Caspian Petrochemical of the United Arab Emirates for $4m in 2012. At this point, it was called the Caspian Gas.
The next sale is listed as taking place in 2021, to unknown Iranian or other Middle Eastern interests. This is when it became the Anil, raising the question of whether the ship has undergone a conversion in Iran.
Iranian detention
The last AIS update comes from 2020.
The Japanese-built Anil was detained in Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2021 with 17 deficiencies.
Grounds for detention included problems with the fixed fire extinguishing installation, masters’ and officers’ certificates, control of oil discharge, the main engine, and maintenance of life-saving appliances.
The ship is valued at $1.37m by VesselsValue.
