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| Iraq |
| US bolsters platforms to defend Iraq's oil |
| 2007-11-18 |
| The US-led coalition is building a permanent security base on Iraq's oil pumping platforms in the Gulf to act as the "nerve centre" of efforts to protect the country's most vital strategic asset. Work on the Tactical Operations Centre on the Khawr al-Amaya terminal should be finished early next month. The bulk of security planning and co-ordination at the head of the Gulf will then shift from frigates and patrol boats to the platforms of the terminal. The sound of saws and a blaze of welding arcs accompanied construction of a tower of modified shipping containers, the hub of the multi-million pound project, designed to give early warning of hostile action by Iran or al-Qa'eda. Built by British engineers in the 1950s, the terminal is undergoing extensive renovations to upgrade its defences. "We don't state the exact threat but you can be sure this is part of a layered defence that marks a significant step forward in the maritime security around the platforms," said Cdre Keith Winstanley, the commander of UK maritime operations in the Gulf. Khawr al-Amaya and its larger neighbour, al-Basra terminal, are vital but fragile outposts of the world economy, boasting a loading capacity close to 10 per cent of global daily supply. The terminals not only carry the burden of financing the reconstruction of Iraq but those responsible for security acknowledge that a successful attack here would dash any prospect of petrol falling below £1 a litre on British forecourts. A terrorist attack almost succeeded in reaching the terminals in 2004 and al-Qa'eda has declared Gulf oil facilities a top target. To shield the platforms, Argyll, a Type 23 frigate, and the Australian frigate Anzac cruise at four knots within a two-mile exclusion zone. Thwarting al-Qa'eda means unauthorised vessels face a series of challenges from patrol boats. Royal Marine Commandos provide boarding parties on oil tankers queuing to get alongside the terminals. The task is complicated by Iran's aggressive presence, which has made the Gulf the most contested waterway in the world. By seizing a half-sunk crane on the boundary of Iraqi and Iranian territorial waters, Teheran has created a quandary for the Royal Navy. Patrols rate it as a legitimate target of interest but do not want to make it a flashpoint of war. When a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter, bristling with missiles and cannon, levels off over the bright yellow crane, the only device aimed below is a digital camera's telephoto lens. From the decks of Argyll, the crane is a tiny shadow in the distance that could be obliterated with the flick of a finger. "This is the eyes-on part of the job," said Flt Cdr David Gillett, the photographer on the Lynx. "It's a curious daily task of us watching them, watching us. We think of it as providing a visual deterrent." A detachment of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) occupies the crane, granting Teheran a valuable surveillance point just yards from Iraq's only oil pumping platforms. Iran's seizure of 15 sailors and Royal Marines in March casts a long shadow over the operations around the terminals. The party was captured without firing a shot when the IRGC exploited a gap in air cover. Fast American coastguard gunboats reinforce coalition firepower within the zone and increasingly newly trained Iraqi navy and marines are sent to intercept ships entering the area. In waters teeming with tankers, cargo vessels and fishing dhows, binoculars can trump land-based radar on which Argyll barely stands out from the crowd. Lt David Jones, Argyll's weapons officer, admitted a frailty that the Iranians on the crane are positioned to exploit. "This frigate has the profile of a fishing boat," he said. "We're one of the smallest things out here. A missile is much more likely to find an oil tanker to target but because of that there are potentially situations where we would be left standing, watching a missile go past us." |
| Posted by:lotp |