Swift patrol boat 304 enters the port here Aug. 7. The Iraqi navy accepted control of Swift boats 304 and 306 Aug. 13.

The Iraqi navy accepted Swift-class Patrol boats 304 and 306 from the U.S. Navy during a handover ceremony Aug. 13 at Umm Qasr, Iraq.

Saturday’s ceremony was the culmination of months of effort for both the U.S. and Iraqi Navies.

“I’m extremely happy for the Iraqi navy,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Kelvin Dixon, director of Iraq Training and Advising Mission-Navy and Marines from Rockaway, N.J. “The delivery of the U.S. built Swift Patrol Boats 304 and 306 increases the Iraqi navy’s capability to effectively patrol and defend their territorial waters and critical oil infrastructure.”

“The Iraqis have really done an outstanding job with the limited assets they had,” said Cmdr. Quintin “QB” Bell, commanding officer of the ITAM-N/M at Umm Qasr from Augusta, Ga. “The addition of these two very-capable patrol boats will greatly enhance their ability to carry out their assigned missions.”

Iraqi navy commander, Rear Adm. Ali, said that the delivery was an important day for the Iraqi navy, and he thanked everyone for making the day happen, according to Bell.

Construction began on 304 and 306 in mid-2010 in Morgan City, La. Upon completion, the 35-meter patrol boats began their journey to Iraq in June with a month-long voyage from Houston to Bahrain on the roll-on/roll-off ship MV Cape Trinity. The U.S. Navy offloaded the vessels in Bahrain and sailed them to Umm Qasr under the U.S. flag.

Swift Patrol Boats 304 and 306 arrived in Umm Qasr Aug. 7 and underwent final checks and sea trials facilitated by Naval Sea Systems Command and ITAM-N/M engineers. U.S. engineers and advisors validated the boats were seaworthy and the crews were qualified prior to the handover.

After U.S. and Iraqi navy leadership signed required documents, U.S. and Iraqi sailors lowered the U.S. flag and raised the Iraqi flag on the vessels to complete the handover.

The patrol boats provide capability for a variety of missions including maritime surveillance and reconnaissance as well as vessel boarding and search and seizure. The new vessels raise the Iraqi navy’s patrol boat force to five of 12 ordered. The remaining Swift boats are expected to arrive in Iraq before 2013.

The Iraqi navy is responsible for protecting off-shore oil infrastructure, territorial waters, Umm Qasr, and checkpoints in the surrounding area. Currently, the Iraqi fleet boasts 65 vessels, and more than 3,700 sailors and Marines, conducting more than 50 weekly patrols.

DVIDS
Story by Maj. Brandon Lingle

Iraqi navy sailors secure a Kuwaiti coast guard vessel during a joint exercise in the Persian Gulf, July 25. Photo by Pvt. Andrew Slovensky

On a warm morning over calm waters, the horizon is lined with small fishing boats. A Kuwaiti coast guard cutter discovers an Iraqi fisherman operating illegally in Kuwait’s territorial waters and the crew detains him. The Iraqi navy arrives to take custody of the apprehended fisherman and return him to friendlier seas.

That was the scenario played out by a joint training exercise of the Iraqi navy and Kuwaiti coast guard in the Persian Gulf, July 25.

This and other exercises conducted since 2008 are the legacy of the Khawr Abd Allah Protocol, an agreement signed between Kuwait and Iraq to ensure the security of territorial waters in the Gulf.

U.S. Navy sailors with Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission-Navy in Umm Qasr have been hard at work training their Iraqi navy counterparts to be seaworthy.

Until recently, the Iraqi training had been planned and coordinated by ITAM-N. This exercise was the first entirely orchestrated by Iraqi and Kuwaiti forces, while the U.S. Navy were merely observers, said Lt. Cmdr. Aaron Hoff, U.S. liaison to the Kuwaiti coast guard, who watched with ITAM-N operations officers from aboard the deck of an Iraqi patrol boat.

“We’re here for moral support or in case they have any questions,” said Hoff.

Hoff said exercises like this are the fruit of an effort by ITAM-N to prepare Iraqi sailors and promote cooperation across the sea and land with Kuwait. The exercise outlines a common problem with illegal fishing that faces Iraq and Kuwait, he added.

The exercise started with an officer exchange and planning meeting aboard the Iraqi patrol boat, called a swift boat. Defenders, small watercraft that accompany patrols, acted the part of the illegally fishing vessels to be apprehended by the Kuwaiti coast guard.

After the first arrest and subsequent surrender of the “fisherman” to the Iraqi navy, the two forces reversed roles. The Defenders surrounded a Kuwaiti vessel acting out the illicit fishing operation and delivered the culprits to the awaiting custody of the Kuwaiti coast guard.

Each year, the Iraqi and Kuwaiti forces plan to do more cooperative practice runs, including border meetings of officials from both nations, said Hoff.

“It’s the culmination of years of effort to encourage the Iraqi navy and Kuwaiti coast guard to improve their operability,” said Hoff. “It’s a victory.”

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Story by Pvt. Andrew Slovensky

Iraq navy patrol ship Nasir arrives in homeport, Umm Qasr. Photo by Lt. Ryan Schumacher

The Iraqi navy welcomed the Patrol Ship Nasir to its new homeport here in a ceremony Nov. 12. The Nasir is the second of four ships contracted from the Fincantieri Shipyard in La Spezia, Italy. The Iraqi manned ship departed Italy Oct. 15, completing the more than 5,000 mile journey in about a month.

The ceremony included a naval review of the Nasir and several other Iraqi ships and boats, as well as a demonstration of boarding tactics and a synchronized diver demonstration. U.S. Army Brig. Gen. James M. McDonald, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq, spoke briefly at the event to highlight the importance of the Nasir in protecting Iraq’s coasts.

“Iraq is in charge of its security,” McDonald said. MNSTC-I’s Iraq Advisory and Training Team-Navy continues to help train and advise the Iraqi naval force. MNSTC-I’s goal is to assist Iraq in developing a capable-and-responsive force able for conducting maritime security operations in the region.

With more than 75 percent of Iraq’s gross domestic product coming from revenues generated by its offshore oil platforms, Iraq has a keen interest in protecting and controlling its territorial waters.

The ceremony ended with a tour of the Nasir for assembled guests and a brief cruise in the Shatt al-Arab waterway.

DVIDS
Story by Lt. Ryan Schumacher

The U.S. Navy and Air Force recently teamed up to support and train the newly formed Iraqi Navy with maritime mission support along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf, where a large percentage of Iraq’s oil is exported.

The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place, April 12, as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq’s Navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

“We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel is a significant achievement,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Scott Seeberger, King Air Military Training Team chief for the 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron. “This flight marks the creation of a new alliance between the Iraqi Air Force and the new Iraqi Navy, particularly near Iraq’s oil facilities in the Arabian Gulf.”

Commander Seeberger said ensuring these facilities remain safe is a top priority for his crew.

“It is very important that these facilities are kept safe and the U.S. Navy has a big presence there in terms of ensuring its safety,” he said. “They [Navy] are building up the Iraqi Navy in the Basra area and one of the things they were lacking was an ISR capability.”

As Seeberger piloted the aircraft with the help of an Iraqi pilot, Staff Sgt. Joshua Roden, 321st AEAS mission sensor operator, provided those ISR capabilities from the back of a King Air platform during this aerial support first, while simultaneously advising an Iraqi lieutenant colonel on the process.

“This was a key stepping stone for integrating the Iraqi Air Force’s ISR capability with the Navy and getting them to use their many different wells of technology to work together and create a mission package to protect themselves,” said Roden.

“We received feedback a couple of days after the mission that they [the Iraqi military] were very pleased with the imagery, which leads me to believe the mission was a success and hopefully it is the beginning of a new partnership between the Iraqi Air force and Navy,” added Seeberger.

MNF-I
by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tim Beckham,
U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

The Iraqi Navy is a vital part in the development of the new Iraq by providing protection to Iraq’s ports and offshore oil infrastructure.
The Iraqi Navy

On Oct. 8, a cargo ship from the United Arab Emirates came alongside South Port, Umm Qasr, with six Defender Class Fast Small Boats (FSB) in her hold. The Iraqi Navy and the UK-led Naval Training Team, both based at the port, have eagerly awaited the arrival of these vessels. Along with twenty others due to be delivered over a period of several months, these FSBs will greatly improve the ability of the Iraqi Navy to transition to full operational capability.

The Defenders were sold to the Iraqi Navy by SAFE Boat International through a United States Coast Guard Foreign Military Sales contract. They are 27 feet in length and capable of carrying up to 8 boarding-team members in a fully-enclosed air conditioned cabin. The FSBs are powered by twin Yamaha 250 horsepower, 4-stroke engines, enabling the craft to reach speeds up to 45 knots. The boats will be a huge improvement over the Iraqi Navy’s existing Fast Assault Boats and present a much more capable and versatile platform with which to defend Iraq’s territorial waters and carry out Visit, Board, Search and Seizure operations.

After being manufactured in Port Orchard, Washington, the boats were trucked to Norfolk, Virginia. In early September, the six boats began their journey across the Atlantic Ocean and, after a series of stops for replenishment and a transfer of cargo in the UAE, were loaded onto the ITB Thunder/Lightning for the last leg of the journey into Umm Qasr. The boats were off-loaded late in the evening and taken to the American United Logistics compound. Once all formalities are complete, the boats will be transferred to the Naval Base jetty to await the arrival of the United States Coast Guard International Training Division team later this month. The team will work alongside Iraqi Navy and NaTT instructors to initiate the reactivation process.

Formal training enabling the Iraqi Navy to operate and maintain the boats will commence on completion of reactivation training. Training will include navigation, general seamanship, engine repair and maintenance, and ship’s husbandry. NaTT instructors will advise and mentor Iraqi Navy instructors so they will be able to take on this training when the next batch of boats arrives. Lt. Tony Crisco, United States Coast Guard, NaTT, stated, “The inception of the FSBs will provide a greater capability to the Iraqi Navy and Marines to move throughout the Iraqi Navy waterborne area of responsibility (AOR), increasing their mission capability and presence, and providing an avenue for greater stability for commercial traffic and oil platform protection.” NaTT commander Capt. Phil Warwick, Royal Navy, added, “This is a genuine, tangible step forward for the Iraqi Navy. They are very excited and can’t wait to get to grips with this new vessel”.

MNF-I