The grim plight of big oil tankers in the war between Iran, Iraq

Press, 24 February 1987, Page 20

The grim plight of big oil tankers in the war between Iran, Iraq

From

RALPH JOSEPH,

in Athens

When the VLCC Enterprise, a veiy large oil tanker, was hit by Iraqis about 80km south of the Iranian oil terminal at Kharg Island on May 25 last year, the fire which engulfed the vessel was “so fierce that her bridge and accommodation block collapsed floor by floor, eventually sinking into the body of the ship,” a salvage man operating in the Gulf said in Athens recently. Mr Klaas Reingert, managing director of the Rotterdam-based Smit Tak International Ocean Towage and Salvage Company, has a deep inside knowledge of the “Tanker War’.’ that has steadily widened since 1983, when Iraq- acquired French-made Super Etendard planes equipped with Exocet missiles. Addressing a shipping conference in Athens, he offered a glimpse of the horror of the otherwise forgotten conflict on the Gulf waters. Mr Reingert’s salvage tugs have assisted dozens of vessels hit by either Iranian or Iraqi forces in the Gulf, and he was at no loss for vivid accounts of the drama accompanying each attack.

The Liberian tanker Tiburon, for instance, was “loaded with a quarter of a million tonnes of Iranian crude when struck by an Iraqi missile,” he said. The explosion on board “resulted in the deaths of seven crew members working in the

engine room. The missile pene-

trated the hull and detonated in

the engine room.” But the men

were in fact “scalded to death by

superheated steam” from a fractured pipe. “The blast also blew the lift out of the top of the accommodation.” Eight salvage tugs came to the rescue, and of these, five were engaged in cooling the fire — a necessary technicality because If the fire is not first cooled, it will simply erupt again even after the flames have been smothered with foam or whatever. It took more than 24 hours to put out the fire on board the Tiburon, but 20 minutes later a boiler room explosion ignited it again. Other new flare-ups continued to plague the vessel, as the salvage operation was carried out in what is called the “war zone" in the Gulf. Then one of the ironies of the “tanker war” occurred. Among other vessels called in to take some of the load of Iranian crude oil from the Tiburon was the British Renown. Two missiles hit the British Renown as it approached. The damage was slight, but the vessel had to head for a nearby Gulf port for emergency repairs — where it was found to have been hit by an

Iranian missile. The Iranians had mistakenly attacked a tanker that was approaching to rescue some of their own oil. In March last year, a missile hit the Liberian tanker Atlanticos, during an air raid on Kharg

Island. “Fires took hold of the engine room and accommodation.”

. Salvage work continued under constant threat of further air attacks, seven of which took place. Three days after the initial attack, another Iraqi Exocet missile hit the Atlanticos. “Fifteen hours later, a third missile was fired at the Atlanticos. The salvage team could see the exhaust glow of the missile as it passed between the VLCC and the tug.” The Exocet missed “by just 20 metres and exploded in the sea.”

In August last year, the VLCC Mistra was grounded near Kharg Island after a missile struck it For five days, a salvage crew “worked under continuous airraid red alert.

“The Mistra salvage began on August 7. The plan involved taking the ship south, away from the most violent air raids. During this voyage at 2200 (hrs) on August 20, the bridge crew of the Smit-Lloyd (a salvage vessel) saw the white-green exhaust flare of a missile pass just 40 metres across the bow. Seconds later, it struck and destroyed the supply vessel Abu Mabil. We did what we could to rescue the survivors.

“The tow of the Mistra then continued, until 0500 (hrs) the following day, when the tanker was hit by a second missile. Fortunately, we had no riding

crew on board. The ship caught fire once again. Happily, the tugs were able to bring the blaze under control within 30 minutes. “It can be seen that salvage in the Gulf is an extremely hazardous occupation. Quite literally, the missiles were flying about our ears.”

Mr Reingert said that among the weapons used in the Gulf are missiles with radar homing systems “which lock on to the target’s largest profile — which explains why most of the missiles strike the engine room (and) accommodation spaces.” Several commercial companies have produced "passive defence systems” for merchant vessels, including decoys, chaff dispensers, and products designed to reduce radar echo. “In my opinion, these products are of little practical value,” he said. Mr Michael Miller, manager of the Hellenic War Risks Association, said the Iraqis first used the Exocet AM-38 missiles in attacks against tankers using the Kharg Island oil terminal. This missile had a range of 30km, but the Iraqis later acquired the Exocet AM-39, with a range of 50km to 60km. The missiles, used with the Super Etendard, gave the Iraqis a range of 60 nautical miles south of Kharg. Still later, France delivered 60 Mirage fighter bombers to Iraq. “We also learned that 10 of these had a range wide enough to

enable them to reach the Strait’ of Hormuz and return to base. Some of the flights could be supersonic. The margin of range’ could be increased if the Iraqis mastered the not very difficult task of in-flight refuelling.” The Iranians, equipped with “45 serviceable Phantoms” when the Exocet attacks began in May 1984, were unable to shoot dawn the Super Etendards delivering them. They then took to attack ing neutral shipping instead. > "Spotter planes, either Orion or Hercules, were used to fly over the target and give directions to the Phantoms.” This was revealing, Mr Miller said.

If the Iranians “needed all that help to find a large slow-moving ship, they were obviously illequipped to find a small fastmoving aircraft.” ;

The missiles Iran has been using to attack neutral ships were none too good. They included the British-made AS-12; and the American-made Maverick, another obsolescent weapon,designed to hit tanks, not ships.;. , The toll on ships in the Gulf; from combined Iranian and Iraqi attacks, has nevertheless beeq high. Since May 1984, nearly 200 vessels have been hit by both sides, in mainly two “war zones” — one concentrated around Kharg Island in the upper Gulf, and the other near the Strait of Hormuz, near the shores of the United Arab Emirates, in the; lower Gulf.

That figure is a record for merchant ships hit, in the history of modern naval warfare.

The Iranians mistakenly attacked a tanker coming to rescue some of their own oil