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By Kenny Chee
THE protection of one of Iraq's most important oil facilities, which was targeted before by terrorists, was led by a Singapore Armed Forces warship for over three months.
Its attached smaller craft - from inflatable boats to USVs (unmanned surface vessels) - patrolled the waters, alert for sudden attacks.
And the warship itself commanded a multinational force protecting the critical Al Basra Oil Terminal.
The 141m landing ship tank, called the Republic of Singapore Ship (RSS) Resolution, played a key role in taking command of ships from various foreign navies, including the United States Navy and Royal Australian Navy.
"We had to decide the dispositions of the ships so that we were well (able) to take out any threat that was likely to head towards the oil terminal that we were protecting," recalled the RSS Resolution's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Lee Joan Hin, 36.
Last Saturday morning, after three months of duty in the naval front of the "war on terror", the ship returned from the North Arabian Gulf and berthed at Changi Naval Base.
Its deployment had been part of Singapore?s contributions to Iraq's reconstruction. According to Lt-Col Lee, the Al Basra terminal contributes about 85 per cent of Iraq's gross domestic product.
It was, together with another major terminal called the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal, the target of suicide-bombing seacraft in 2004, when three American personnel were killed.
The invading vessels exploded before they reached either oil platform, following intervention by coalition naval forces.
This month, a report by the Oil & Gas Journal said the Al Basra terminal is "still at risk of attacks by small boats operated by insurgents or Iranian Revolutionary Guards".
With such danger looming, the RSS Resolution's order of the day for its 180 men and women is vigilance. The crew made security sweeps on sea vessels heading towards the Al Basra terminal. Besides patrolling, boarding operations were also mounted.
In the event of a likely attack, Lt-Col Lee said the RSS Resolution would first issue radio warnings.
"If the potential threat kept coming, we'd fire flares and sound the ship's horns to tell the intruder it's time to turn around. But if the threat insisted, then we'd have to take more lethal measures," he said.
The warship has an infra-red vision device to track targets, and is armed with a surface- to-air missile system as well as a 76mm naval gun.
The RSS Resolution's mission was the fifth landing ship tank deployment by Singapore to the Gulf since 2003. It also provided logistics support for the multinational coalition's vessels and helicopters, such as allowing choppers to land on the ship's helipads to refuel.
kennyc@sph.com.sg
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