Iran Allegedly Begins Sea Trials of Second Tanker-Converted Forward Operating “Mothership”
5th May 2025
Open-source intelligence analyst Mehdi H., known on X as “mhmiranusa” and known for his reporting on Iranian naval developments, reports that the Iranian Navy’s new forward base ship—also referred to as a forward operating base ship—is set to begin sea trials.
“Iranian Navy will soon start sea trials of a new forward base ship named Kurdestan. This new base (442) like IRIS Makran (441) is a converted crude oil tanker previously named Tabukan (IMO: 8917467),” Mehdi H. said, adding, “The conversion by ISOICO includes a helipad likely for helicopter & UAV ops.”