Iraqi interim government unveils plans to halt oil smuggling

Oct. 27, 2003
The interim Iraqi government, backed up by US and UK military forces, has announced plans to curb the smuggling of oil, including increased interdiction efforts along with public trials and heavy sentences for smugglers who are caught.

The interim Iraqi government, backed up by US and UK military forces, has announced plans to curb the smuggling of oil, including increased interdiction efforts along with public trials and heavy sentences for smugglers who are caught.

Coalition maritime forces are currently boarding an average of 90 ships/week, of which as many as 5 ships/week have been detained for transporting illegally obtained Iraqi oil.

Under United Nations sanctions, ships carrying illegal cargo were diverted to regional states for disposition, but coalition forces now are detaining ships and referring cases to the Iraqi justice system.

Iraqi law and recent executive orders by the Coalition Provisional Authority allow for ship confiscation and criminal prosecution of senior crewmembers of ships caught smuggling oil, copper, and other vital resources from Iraq.

The Iraqi Port System, law enforcement agencies, and coalition ground forces in Iraq are actively watching for illegal shipping operations and work closely with coalition maritime forces.

Vessels seized

Recent action against the Navstar 1 oil tanker, which attempted to smuggle 3,500 tonnes of diesel fuel from the port of Umm Qasr, demonstrates the seriousness of the Iraqi government. The Navstar 1 captain and first mate were sentenced to 7 years in an Iraqi prison and ordered to pay fines of $2.4 million. Navstar 1 is owned by the Dubai-based Navstar Shipping Co.

During the trial, the court heard evidence that the captain and first mate had arranged for more than 20 smaller vessels to transfer illegally obtained diesel fuel onto the Navstar 1. Navstar 1 and its smuggled diesel fuel were confiscated by Iraq's Ministry of Finance, which will dispose of the vessel and cargo either through sale or use by the Iraqi government.

Five additional ships have been confiscated by order of the Iraqi court, and cases are pending for another seven ships recently detained by coalition forces.

Earlier this month, coalition forces seized 1,800 tonnes of smuggled Iraqi oil in a joint operation by the British Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard, the UK Ministry of Defense said. The oil, found aboard a Guinean-flagged vessel, MV Marwan, was among the largest finds for coalition forces trying to stop smuggling operations.

Marines assisting

Meanwhile, a group of shipborne US Marines has landed in southern Iraq to assist in an antismuggling operation that already has seized dozens of barges and oil tankers, according to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Gen. Richard Myers said Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit operating from the USS Peleliu in the Persian Gulf have gone ashore, but he provided few details.

Speaking at a Pentagon news conference with US Defense Sec. Donald H. Rumsfeld, Myers said the US-led coalition recently began "Operation Sweeney," designed to prevent smuggling in southern Iraq.

"To date, we have arrested about 75 individuals, seized 20 full barges, 15 empty barges, 8 oil boats, 36 petroleum tankers, and 9 pickup trucks containing fuel and 10 fuel pumps," Myers said.

The smuggling methods are fairly basic but very effective, said Maj. Gordon Mackenzie, spokesman for the UK troops, who are leading a multinational command in southern Iraq.

Focusing mainly on the southern Rumaila oil fields, smugglers break into the oil pipelines with sledgehammers, grenades, or assault rifles, he said.

The crude oil that leaks out is loaded up into tanker trucks, carried to Umm Qasr, and loaded onto barges that troll the waterways looking for buyers among the freighters.