Shipload of Rocket Fuel Arrives in Iran

Early on March 29, a vessel bearing a strong resemblance to MV Jairan, the second of two sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) ships carrying sodium perchlorate from China, was spotted in Bandar Abbas Anchorage at 56.3515N 26.9960E midway between the islands of Qeshm and Hormoz.

The vessel seen is 127m in length, with the characteristic deck cranes corresponding to those with which the 16,694 ton MV Jairan is equipped. The vessel appears to still have containers on deck, and is likely to be awaiting a berth at which to unload within the Bandar Abbas commercial harbor. The ship is unlikely to move from the Bandar Abbas anchorage until after the Eid festival, which has just started and marks the end of the month of Ramadan in Iran.

56.3515N 26.9960E: Likely location of MV Jairan, seen early on the morning of March 29

The Iranian authorities appear to have taken no particular security measures to safeguard MV Jairan, which traveled from Shanghai without port calls and with its AIS identification system switched on. Nor does the vessel appear to have an escort whilst sitting vulnerable in open water in the anchorage awaiting a berth.

Once ashore, the sodium perchlorate is likely to be shipped by rail to Tehran, and thence to a processing facility to be converted into ammonium perchlorate. Ammonium perchlorate forms the basis of the solid rocket fuel used to power most Iranian medium range missiles, and the recent imported cargos on both MV Jairan and MV Golbon would be sufficient to fuel approximately 250 medium range Khybar-Shikan and Fattah missiles, or shorter range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, or their Houthi equivalents.