BAGHDAD — The U.S.-led coalition has reported progress in the
development of the Iraq Navy.
Officials said the Iraq Navy has been steadily improving its ability to
patrol the northern Gulf. They said the navy has been working with the
coalition to secure oil terminals in Basra as well as tankers that enter the
area.
Officials said Iraqi patrol boats and marines have joined coalition
operations to protect oil
platforms, Middle East Newsline reported. They said the Iraqi marines and patrol vessels comprise an
integral part of the defense of the nation's territorial waters.
The navy has sought to protect Basra from dhows packed with explosives
sent to destroy tankers and the oil terminal. Two years ago, a dhow exploded
near Basra, killing two U.S. sailors and a member of the Coast Guard.
"They have just been aces," Brig. Gen. Carl Jensen, the commander of
Coalition Task Force 58, said. "They are highly motivated, they take
enormous pride in what they are doing and the fact that they are defending
their home turf. These are their waters, these are their oil platforms, and
they understand fully the priceless value that these oil platforms represent
to their nation."
The coalition has been training Iraq Navy personnel both at sea and at
the home base in Umm Qasr. Officials said a U.S. Navy transition team has
conducted the training in Umm Qasr, and the task force commander was
certifying the forces.
"I expected much more difficulty with language and cultural barriers,
but they haven't materialized," U.S. Navy Capt. Christopher Noble, commander
of Coalition Task Group 58.1, said. "There have been some, but we are able
to work through those."
Coalition Task Group 58.1 has been responsible for protecting Iraq's oil
terminals. One of the oil terminals, at Khawr al Amaya, is several
kilometers from the border with Iran.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maui, one of four patrolling the area, has been
stationed less than a kilometer from Iranian waters. Officials report smooth
relations with the Iranian Navy while citing tensions with the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"They [Iranian Navy] are very professional mariners; they are very
courteous," U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Michael Miller, commander of Carrier Strike
Group 7, said. "The radical nature of their government is not reflected in
the behavior of their ships at sea."
In contrast, officials said, the IRGC has been seen assaulting and
stealing from Iraqi fishermen who stray into Iranian waters. So far, the
IRGC has not threatened coalition vessels.
"Disruptions here are in no one's best interest," Jensen said. "And the
Iranians realize this."
