Al Munassir was ordered in 1977 from Brooke Marine by the government of Oman and laid down on 4 July that year.[1] The vessel was designed to transport up to of cargo or 8 main battle tanks along with 188 fully equipped troops which would disembark from bow doors and a ramp.[2] The vessel was 84.1m (275.9feet) long overall, with a beam of 14.9m (48.9feet) and a draught of 2.3m (07.5feet) with a displacement of 2169t.[1] Power was provided by Two Mirrlees Blackstone ES L8MGR diesel engines rated at 2440lk=inNaNlk=in driving two shafts, to give a design speed of 12kn.[2] Range at that speed was 4400nmi.[3] A complement of forty five, including nine officers, was carried.[2]
Fire support was to be provided by a single OTO Melara 76 mm gun mounted on forward and a pair of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon mounted midships, while a helipad aft could accommodate a helicopter up to the size of a Westland Sea King.[3] In addition to an Ericsson laser and LSE optical rangefinders, the vessel was equipped with a Decca TM 1229 navigational radar and Reifon Omega navigator, a Kelvin Hughes MS 45 echo sounder.[1]
Laid down on 4 July 1977, launched on 25 July 1978 and commissioned on 31 January 1979, Al Munassir served as an amphibious operation and logistics vessel for the Omani fleet.[4] The principal purpose for the vessel was to support the Musandam Governorate in the Strait of Hormuz.[5] This area, which is strategically important for the transportation of crude oil, has no land border with the rest of Oman. In the event of a crisis, the vessel, supported by smaller vessels including, from 1985, Nasr al Bahr, was to be used to transport troops and equipment northwards.[5] The vessel was placed in reserve in the mid 1990s and subsequently retired to become a harbour training ship at the end of the twentieth century.[6]
Al Munassir was sunk as an artificial reef on 22 April 2003 and is now a popular diving destination.[7] The wreck is off the coast of Muscat at 23.5172°N 58.7578°W at a depth between 10mand30mm (30feetand100feetm). It is now a refuge for wildlife, including the bigeye snapper, bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Indo-Pacific sergeant, moon wrasse, pennant coralfish, ring-tailed cardinalfish, yellowbar angelfish and yellowfin goatfish.[8]