The withdrawal of British combat troops from Iraq has already begun and by 31 July 2009 the vast bulk of British Armed Forces will have all left the country. Except that is, a small group of Royal Naval personnel.
The naval personnel will be staying in southern Iraq to train the fledgling Iraqi Navy who have a task essential to the country’s future economic development; protecting the country’s oil network and main port of Umm Qasr.
The port of Umm Qasr is gradually growing into a thriving area of commerce as it fulfils its role as Iraq’s only deepwater quay facility.
The port operates 24-hours-a-day and hundreds of containers are being shipped from the area with thousands of trucks daily coming in and out of the port area. Located close to the Kuwaiti border, Umm Qasr receives 80 per cent of the country’s imports.
The port is therefore also home to the Iraqi Navy which as well as protecting the port traffic has the vital role of protecting the country’s two oil terminals out in the Gulf. These generate around 90 per cent of Iraq’s income.
British troops are currently based at two camps in Umm Qasr. One of the two sites will be handed over to the Americans at the end of this month, but UK military personnel are likely to remain at the second camp until at least 2011 where a British-led Naval Training Team, currently consisting of 55 British and 25 US personnel, will continue its work mentoring the Iraqi Navy.
The Iraqi Navy has been working hard to improve the safety and security of the port, their offshore oil infrastructure and Iraq’s territorial waters, and while at present coalition forces protect the two oil terminals in the Gulf, known as KAAOT and ABOT, on-platform defence of KAAOT is expected to be handed over to the Iraqis at the end of this month.
The Iraqi Navy has around 2,000 personnel, including Marines, and has grown and improved significantly since the 2003 invasion.
Royal Navy Captain Richard Ingram, head of the coalition naval advisory team in Umm Qasr, said their progress had been “pretty dramatic”, but added: “There’s still a lot to achieve.”
Security has not been a problem at the oil terminals since April 2004, when a failed attack was launched on KAAOT, but it is still taken extremely seriously.
British soldiers from The Queen’s Royal Hussars currently patrol around Umm Qasr port wearing soft hats and without body armour, although they still carry weapons. But they will hand over responsibility for the port’s security to the increasingly professional 2nd Battalion of the Iraqi Marines and return home at the end of this month.
Royal Navy Captain Graham Charlesworth, who advises the port on development, said:
“We’re not blasé about security. We’ve adopted this posture because that’s what the threat assessment says pertains to this port. We are not just cavalier about it.”
Colonel Jamal, the Iraqi Marines 2nd Battalion’s commanding officer said the security situation had improved “from zero to 70 per cent” since a major Iraqi Army-led operation against militias in Basra last year known as Charge of the Knights – and to “80 per cent” at Umm Qasr.
He described the port as an “artery” feeding all of Iraq, adding:
“I am happy because the port of Umm Qasr belongs to all Iraqis and the investment that comes in the future is going to help Iraq’s development and reduce unemployment.”
The Iraqi Government has asked for the Royal Navy-led training team to stay in the country after the bulk of the British troops pull out over the summer.
The port’s capacity is increasing by 20 per cent a year, and it handled imports of 7.5m tonnes in 2008.
Major projects to dredge the port and remove wrecks will enable it to take more large vessels in the future.
While it is primarily a commercial port, it also has a passenger terminal and a ferry from Dubai runs to Umm Qasr twice a week.
British Defence Secretary John Hutton highlighted the importance of the port earlier this year, saying:
“The UK and our coalition partners are working with the Iraqi authorities to develop the port and it is one of the key areas in which international companies are looking to invest.”
With the British mentoring of the Iraqi Navy set to continue, the economic lifeline of southern Iraq should become ever more secure.
