An Iranian-flagged vessel Saviz was hit by limpet mines in the Red Sea, states the Iranian Tasnim news agency. The attack is said to be carried out by Israeli commandos. The strike reportedly took place near Yemen, Off the coast of Eritrea (Arabiya), at about 7:30 am local time in the Red Sea. Some reports say that the incident happened because the ship hit a sea mine. There have been accusations of Iranian and Israeli attacks on each others vessels throughout the region. The Red Sea is a vital link in the shipping trade. Ships have to navigate through the Suez Canal in the northern end of Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end.
Built in 1999, Saviz is said to be an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces (IRGC) ‘Mother ship’ or ‘command center’ ship masquerading as a cargo ship and has been stationed in its location for about four years. Open sources claim that the ship hosts Iranian commandos who protect Iranian commercial ships in the region. As per MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System dated 2020-09-29 11:59 UTC, General Cargo SAVIZ is currently located at RSEA – Red Sea at position 15° 52′ 54.696″ N, 41° 8′ 16.908″ E. The vessel departed from ISOICO, IR on 2016-11-20 20:56 LT (UTC +3.5) and is currently sailing at 0.1 knots with Southwest direction. Its carrying capacity is 23176 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 7.6 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 174 meters and her width is 26.03 meters. ISOICO stands for Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex Co, which is an Iranian shipyard, located in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, about 37 km west Bandar Abbas City. It is a shipbuilder and ship-repairer of different types of vessels and offshore structures. ISOICO is a subsidiary of the IDRO Group. IDRO stands for Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran.
An Israeli ship M/V Lori was attacked on 25 March and Israel had blamed Iran for the attack. Iran had denied its involvement.
The US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), flagship of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG), along with guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) and guided-missile destroyers USS Mitscher (DDG 57) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), had completed a southbound Suez Canal transit into the Red Sea on April 02. The aircraft carrier is still in the region and as per the US media it is about 200 miles away from Saviz when the mine hit the ship. The US has denied its involvement in the incident.