179
Views

Video: Aging Bulker Breaks in Half and Sinks Off Bandar Abbas

Luni
Via Iranian social media

Published Jul 14, 2026 5:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

An aging bulk carrier has split in half and partially sunk off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran, an area of active ongoing hostilities. 

The bulker Luni (IMO 9070711) appears to have sustained a broken keel, and has settled onto the shallow bottom at an anchorage in the northern sector of the Strait of Hormuz. The ship is submerged amidships, but both her bow and stern are sticking out of the water at steep angles. 

Luni is 32 years old, well past the normal service life for a merchant vessel. No authoritative account of the sinking has been released, but anecdotal reports indicate that she was in collision with another merchant ship several days ago, causing hull damage that propagated and resulted in catastrophic failure. 

A broken keel would also be consistent with a heavy torpedo attack or a Quicksink strike. Both attack methods rely upon the detonation of a large explosive payload beneath the vessel amidships, forcing the hull upwards and cracking it in two. While U.S. forces have been conducting heavy strikes in the Bandar Abbas area, no kinetic incident affecting Luni has been reported. 

In rare and extreme cases, improperly-loaded or structurally compromised vessels can break up of their own accord - but rarely at anchor in calm conditions. 

Luni was a 1994-built bulker of 43,000 dwt capacity, flagged in St. Kitts (a Paris MoU black list flag) and operated by a Turkish firm. She had a years-long history of port state control inspection issues, accumulating more than 50 deficiencies in the last two years alone.