Iran ordered the ship from the English shipyard Swan Hunter in October 1974[5] in a contract worth £40 million (equivalent to $54 million).[14][3] Kharg was laid down on 27 January 1976,[5] launched on 3 February 1977[16] by Gholam Reza Pahlavi and named by Manijeh Pahlavi, a member of the royal family.[15] R. J. Daniel, a Royal Corps of Naval Constructors officer, wrote in his memoirs that the ceremonial ship launching was attended by the wife of the Shah's brother, and a cleric wearing a black turban blessed the battle honors but got the name of the ship wrong in his first attempt.[17] She ran some trials in November 1978, but delays in fitting-out postponed her commissioning by the Imperial Iranian Navy and shortly afterwards the Iranian Revolution took place.[4] In August 1979, it was reported that the Interim Government of Iran intended to cancel the contract, and as a result Swan Hunter was looking for a new purchaser.[18]