Aging Bulker Luni Splits in Two, Sinks Near Bandar Abbas

Bulk Carrier Snaps in Two in the Strait of Hormuz

A decades-old bulk carrier has broken apart and partially sunk at anchor off Bandar Abbas, Iran, in a region currently marked by ongoing military tensions. According to a report by The Maritime Executive, the vessel Luni (IMO 9070711) appears to have suffered a broken keel before settling on the seabed at a shallow anchorage in the northern Strait of Hormuz. Video circulating on Iranian social media shows the ship submerged amidships, with its bow and stern jutting out of the water at sharp angles.

A Vessel Well Past Its Prime

Built in 1994, Luni was 32 years old at the time of the casualty — significantly beyond what is generally considered a normal operational lifespan for a merchant ship. She was a 43,000 dwt bulker flagged to St. Kitts, a flag state listed on the Paris MoU black list, and managed by a Turkey-based operator. Turkish outlet Haber Deniz has reported that the vessel’s owners are Syrian nationals.

No official investigation findings have been released regarding the cause of the failure. Unverified accounts suggest the ship may have collided with another merchant vessel days earlier, with resulting hull damage eventually leading to structural collapse. The report also notes that a fractured keel is consistent with the effects of a heavy torpedo strike or a Quicksink-type weapon, both of which rely on a large underwater explosion amidships to force the hull upward and split it. However, no confirmed kinetic attack on Luni has been reported, even though U.S. forces have reportedly been carrying out strikes in the wider Bandar Abbas area. The report also acknowledges that, in rare instances, a poorly loaded or already weakened hull can fail on its own — though this is unusual for a vessel riding calm water at anchor.

A Troubled Inspection Record

Perhaps the most telling detail for the maritime safety community is Luni’s documented history with port state control. The vessel had racked up more than 50 deficiencies over just the past two years, a record that points to chronic and unresolved structural or maintenance concerns rather than an isolated lapse.

What This Means for Owners and Managers

Whatever ultimately triggered the failure — collision, external attack, or accumulated structural fatigue — Luni’s history of repeated PSC deficiencies is a red flag that should not be overlooked. A pattern of that scale, sustained over two years, typically signals underlying issues with hull integrity, maintenance planning, or class compliance that go well beyond routine paperwork violations. For owners and technical managers operating aging tonnage, particularly vessels nearing or exceeding 30 years of service, this incident is a reminder that deficiency trends recorded across successive inspections are not just a means to avoid detention — they are an early warning system for exactly the kind of catastrophic structural failure seen here.

Independent condition surveys and hull integrity assessments become increasingly important as a vessel ages, especially when operating in high-risk zones where any existing weakness can be compounded by external stresses, whether from heavy weather, grounding risk, collision, or regional conflict. Charterers and cargo interests placing business with older bulkers flagged on watchlists such as the Paris MoU black list should treat a heavy deficiency history as a material risk factor, not a formality to be resolved before loading.

Operating in an Active Conflict Zone

The loss of Luni also underscores the compounding risk facing vessels transiting or anchoring near Bandar Abbas amid the current hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz. Even without a confirmed military cause in this case, the presence of active strikes in the area adds pressure on operators to reassess route planning, anchorage choices, and crewing decisions for older, less resilient tonnage passing through the region. As regional tensions persist, the margin for structural or operational weakness in ships transiting Hormuz continues to shrink.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.