Lock, stock and loads of barrels

IN the glistening waters off the coast of Iraq lie two rusting symbols of the country’s future.

Iraq’s offshore oil terminals, scarred by a tumultuous past, are the conduits for 80 per cent of the country’s GDP. 
They are riddled with bullet holes from the Iran-Iraq conflict, shell craters the size of dinner plates from the first Gulf War and scars from the 2003 invasion.
But the terminals – Al Basra (known as ABOT) and Khawr Al Amaya, (known as KAOT) – pump roughly $11,000 worth of the country’s oil a second.      
Surrounding the platforms is a vast arsenal of coalition heavy weaponry, warships and frigates, all tasked to protect the terminals. 
Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world and an attack on the terminals would wreak havoc on Western economies and international markets, as well as plunging Iraq into further economic turmoil.
Known as Task Force 158, the coalition comprises of units from the US, UK and Australian navies and command rotates every three months.
Their task is not only to protect the platforms but to train the Iraqi navy and marines to eventually take over the security tasks.
While on the surface the Northern Arabian Gulf appears calm, geopolitical games of cat and mouse could have stormy repercussions.
As well as the constant threat of terrorism and suicide bombers, one of the terminals is less than 4,000 metres from Iranian waters.
From KAOT you can see a partially sunken Iraqi barge crane which has been taken over by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy (IRGCN). It sits on the disputed op-line and is used as a surveillance tower.
The coalition operates next to Iranian territorial waters and games of surveillance and counter-surveillance are gathering pace.
Iranian intrusions into Iraqi waters are frequent, and reconnaissance missions and picture-taking are common.
“In terms of Iran there’s always the problem of them looking at us and us looking at them,” said Lieutenant J G Danny Soria, the officer in charge of ABOT.
Coalition forces look for what they dub ‘super-dhows,’ fishing boats with radar systems that can spy on coalition activities.
Iraqi fishermen also complain that the IRGCN ‘rough them up’ for cooperating with coalition rules.
Since the British handed over command earlier this month, US Captain Paul J. Severs has assumed tactical control of the coalition.
“Our interaction with the Iranians we like to keep professional,” he explained, “so there’s ships sailing by and observing each other from a safe distance. We make bridge to bridge calls, asking who are you, and they answer, and we say who we are. Often times it’s very courteous and professional.”
But in the wake of the 15 British sailors and marines kidnapped in March by the IRGCN, sensitivity and professionalism is essential to avoid another diplomatic meltdown.
“We certainly don’t want that happening again,” said Captain Severs.
Since the event sparked a row over the captives selling their stories, the British Navy is still not allowed to speak to the press and we were unable to officially talk to sailors aboard the HMS Richmond who relieved the HMS Cornwall two weeks ago.
The IRGCN makes up only a tiny percentage of the huge amount of traffic which the coalition monitors. Around each terminal is a 3,000 meter warning zone and a 2,000 meter zone where ‘innocent passage’ is suspended.
Coalition ships use a defence system that escalates from audio warning messages – recorded in Arabic, Persian, English and Hindi – to the use of deadly force.
From the darkened operation centre aboard the Australian frigate HMAS ANZAC, Lieutenant Commander Eric Young said that they deal with up to 30 incursions a day.
Often dhows cross over the security lines in an effort to save time and fuel.
“If a dhow enters the warning zone we radio to everyone that it’s there, intercept it, shadow it and act as a blocker. The problem is that there are up to 300 contacts at any one time and any one could be a bad guy.
“Pre 9/11 there was conventional warfare, now we anticipate anything from divers to aircraft. Anything is possible,” he added.
Radar, infrared and sonar are used to track objects passing near the terminals, in addition to security sweeps and vessel boarding and searches. 
“The nature of terrorists is that they don’t want to take you on in a direct fight,” said Commander John Chandler, as his lunch was disturbed by a shrimping boat straying within 1,300 yards of the ship.
“They try and become a part of the community, so we try and build relationships with the fishermen.”
Aboard the USS Firebolt, a patrol coastal ship, there is a constant reminder of the reality of terrorist attacks aimed at the terminals.
Outside the galley is a plaque commemorating the lives of two of its sailors, who, along with a member of the US coastguard, lost their lives in a foiled suicide bombing attempt on ABOT in 2004.
The three servicemen were killed as their vessel tried to intercept suicide speed boats packed with explosives.
Although their operations in Iraq are rarely reported, the US Coastguard is a major contributor to maritime security operations in the region and their patrol cutters are a familiar sight.
They board smaller tugs as well as supertankers that come to fill up with up to $110 million worth of oil. They are also instrumental in training the Iraqi navy.
“The coastguard brings some unique capabilities because we have boarding officers who have been doing this for years,” explained Lieutenant J G Josh Boyle of the US Coastguard Cutter, ADAK.
“We’re doing the same job we do at home, just in a different area.”
But for the coastguard, whose culture is humanitarian, there are also frustrations.
“Unfortunately because of security concerns and the mission at hand we can’t always help injured people. But it’s for good reason because it’s a great way to draw us in and it’s happened before.”
Should terrorists penetrate the wall of amour that surrounds the platforms, the last line of defence are the US and Iraqi navy personnel aboard the platforms.
On ABOT, US sailors and marines live in Konnex boxes at one end of the mile-long platform, while Iraqi navy personnel and staff from the Iraqi Southern Oil Company who run the terminal, live at the other. 
The Iraqis sleep in a large white building called the White House which once had the face of Saddam Hussein emblazoned above its entrance.
While the language barrier creates problems and cultural differences are clear (the US navy were baffled when live goats were brought on board for religious slaughter), relations are warm.
Fishing from the platforms is a popular way of alleviating boredom and fish are swapped for cigarettes between the two navies.
Young Iraqis stand guard at strategic look out points on ABOT with 50 calibre Dushkas.
“The Iraqis are our eyes and ears,” says Lieutenant JG Soria.
“We work side by side the whole time. We overlook them but we are pushing them to run their own training programmes.”
The Iraqi marines and navy train with coalition forces in the North Arabian Gulf as well as in the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr.
Iraqi marines, who can’t be named or photographed due to the risk of reprisals directed at them or their families, say that their jobs give them an opportunity to help rebuild their country.
While the coalition focuses on regional security, the Iraqi navy is being trained up to defend the platforms.
Last week Iraqi marines performed their second boarding and search of a supertanker unassisted, and two Iraqi patrol boats have also passed tests and are scheduled to patrol their own zones.
“The Iraqis are proceeding very well, they’re making excellent progress,” said Captain Severs.
However he said that they are not ready to take over their own security.
“They’re not ready to take over today because they don’t have all the patrol ships they need.
“They’re in the process of procuring a navy, but I can say that buying a new fleet of ships takes time and money and even if you have both of those, often it takes more time.
“That’s one of the challenges.”
The much talked of ‘Transition Road-Map’ which will see security of the platforms eventually handed over to the Iraqi Navy may be a long way off … but the plan is slowly progressing.

By -RdS-
editor@gulfweekly.com