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ABOARD USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (NNS) -- The British staff of Combined Task Force (CTF) 58 debarked USS Cape St. George (CG 71) March 1 after commanding 72 days of successful maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Persian Gulf from aboard the Norfolk-based cruiser. Royal Navy Commodore Bruce Williams, commander, CTF 58 and his staff lead maritime security operations and the protection of two Iraqi oil terminals responsible for more than 90 percent of Iraq’s exported oil. For more than two months, Williams led the task force from aboard his flagship – Cape St. George. “It is with great...

ABOARD USS CAPE ST. GEORGE (NNS) -- USS Cape. St. George’s (CG 71) boarding team responded to a distress call by a Panamanian-flagged motor vessel while conducting maritime security operations in the North Persian Gulf Feb. 27. The master of Motor Vessel Hader, a diesel tanker, contacted Cape St. George via bridge-to-bridge reporting it had been fired upon and illegally boarded. One of Cape’s two Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) teams boarded the vessel and conducted a security sweep of the ship to verify that it was safe for the master and his 11 crew members to stay aboard....