Iranian frigate Alborz
Encyclopedia
Iranian frigate Alborz (in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
البرز), a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-made Vosper
VT Group
VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...
Mark V class frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
(also known as Alvand class frigate
Alvand class frigate
The Alvand class comprise four Iranian light patrol frigates. Only three are currently in service....
), was commissioned in 1971 as part of a four-ship order.
The ship was originally called Zaal, named after Zaal, a mythical warrior of ancient Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(son of Sām
Sam
-People:*Samuel , includes a list of people known as "Sam"*Samantha*Sām, a Persian folk hero, whose name means 'very dark'*Sam , the third son of Lehi and elder brother to the prophet Nephi-Animals:...
and father of Rostam
Rostam
Rostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
) and an important character in the Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
. But after the Islamic Revolution it was renamed Alborz, after the Alborz mountain range
Alborz
Alborz , also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
.
On 1 June 1987 the Alborz stopped a large bulk carrier (the Vevey) and searched it for possible war material for Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Although this was within Iran's skipper's right to do so under international law, this became known as the first search-and-seizure of the Iran–Iraq War.
In January 2010 the ship was commissioned to the Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide....
, to help protect ships from Somali Piracy.