The ‘Tanker War’ – 1987

The first time I saw the circling speedboats from a distance of three nautical miles, I realised a ship was under attack.

For this was the Gulf 'tanker war', part of a lesser- known conflict precedingthe 1990 Gulf War. At this time the Iraq-Iran conflict had been raging since 1980, it's territorial losses and gains changed monthly.

This stalemate prompted attacks on ships by both belligerents, the economic attrition of oil shipments the main target, although attacks on merchant shipping other than tankers was not infrequent.

Statistics abound: Lloyds of London estimating 437 civilian sailors were killed in 546 vessels; 37 fatalities on the destroyer USS Stark; the laying of sea-mines and the largest convoy escort since WW2 - this latter by navies of the UK, USA, France and the former Soviet Union.

 Iraq fired the first tanker war shots, although Iran was quick to retaliate using a particularly rapid attack involving the Boghammar - basically an armed assault craft purchased from Sweden's defence industry.

Bristling with machine guns and rocket launchers, the forays were particularlycowardly upon unarmed vessels - the speedboats I saw were these Boghammars.

And the vessel I was sailing on was the Blue Star Line container ship 'Australia Star.'  The ship was managed by Blue Star of James St, Liverpool with many of the crew from Merseyside. Bound for Kuwait with Australian lamb, our ship had been escorted to approximately the 27th parallel by HMS Manchester, although after that point in the Gulf most warships would proceed no further, the rumour being they deemed it 'too dangerous.'

 A further rumour aboard Australia Star was that whilst northbound passing Iran's Farsi Island, some crew whose cabins were on the ship's starboard side would move to empty cabins of the port side - Farsi Island being the site of Iranian 'Silkworm' missiles and our starboard side being most vulnerable.

And of course, when the ship was southbound the port cabin crew would move starboard. Although no-one ever owned up to this!  So on this ship - a 'large naval target' just as the USS Stark was in the parlance of the Iraqui military, it was easy to ponder man's inhumanity to man as we sailed through a minefield in which the skipper forebade any non-essential personnel to go below decks.  However, after another day we arrived safely in Kuwait, discharged the cargo, then sailed southbound again to Australia.

 Six weeks on and we arrived back in Kuwait. And it was a shock to see a bomb-damaged merchant ship berthed just aft of us the 'Ramses II.'

 'What happened?' we asked the agent.  'This ship, my friend, was attacked close to you last month' he replied.

 A few of the more curious disembarked to the quay for a better look including one guy who started to take photos of the holed bridge window and smoke- blackened housing.  The interior was totally wrecked and his camera was soon clicking away.  Upon seeing this, a dock policeman stopped his moped and beckoned the photographer to him.  In seconds, the cop grabbed his camera, flicked open the back and removed the film.  'No photos' he announced.

 The other guy was crestfallen, possibly wishing he'd been less showy with the lens, but however cheered up when we reminded him the seafarers aboard Ramses II were not so lucky.