Coalition forces ask for aid to find Iraqi mine-laying vessels
By an OGJ correspondent
NICOSIA, Apr. 4 -- Coalition naval forces Friday issued a new alert to shippers, calling for their assistance in locating two Iraqi ships suspected of laying mines in areas of the Persian Gulf.
"Unidentified service vessel Al Shorook and tug Al Fateh Al Mobeen remain unlocated and could be operating anywhere in the. . .gulf," said the advisory, issued by the US Navy's Maritime Liaison Office (Marlo) in Bahrain.
It said, "There is the possibility they will be towing a barge(s), which can be used to deploy mines" and requested all vessels to "contact Marlo if they come into contact with the Al Shorook, Al Fateh Al Mobeen, or any other vessel operating in a suspicious manner."
The advisory followed reports earlier on Friday that the Royal Australian Navy had rushed an advanced mine clearing system into service near the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. Naval security in Iraqi coastal waters increased sharply on Mar. 27 after the discovery of a mine in this Iraqi port, along with potential guerrilla attacks on the oil terminals Mina al-Bakr and Khor al-Amaya.
Guerilla attacks feared
US Navy Spokesman Lt. Garret Kasper told OGJ Online that Iraqi paramilitary forces could begin operating in the waterways using guerilla tactics similar to those being used against coalition forces in the ground war.
"Iraqi paramilitary forces could use these same tactics against coalition naval forces operating in the northern�gulf and upon the recently secured oil terminals at Mina Al-Bakr and Khor Al-Amaya," Kasper said.
Kasper also confirmed the discovery of one mine, saying "we'll clear the area as soon as we can in order to get the humanitarian aid to Umm Qasr." Meanwhile, he said, "commercial shipping should be frozen by default."
The warning of guerilla activity was in response to reports on Mar. 26 that Iranian patrol vessels had pursued four Iraqi speedboats laden with explosives (OGJ, Mar. 31, 2003, p. 22).
"We can confirm the existence of one of the Iraqi speedboats, but not any more than that," Kasper said, adding that the vessel had been chased into Iranian waters where it had detonated.
The discovery of the Iraqi speedboats was the first definite physical evidence that suicide attacks could be undertaken in the war, and it came as US Navy officials announced that Mina al-Bakr was ready to resume operations.
Australian officials said Apr. 3 that the remaining Iraqi speedboats remained at large and represented a threat to coalition naval forces and merchant shipping in the gulf region.