The Iraqi Navy

Montrose Toast ^ | 14 August 2009 | DJ Elliott

[DJ Elliott]

The Iraqi Navy and Marines are the smallest of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense armed forces. With only 68 kilometers (43 statute miles) of coastline and two oil terminals, Iraq does not require a large naval force. However, what Iraq has now and what is on order is insufficient for the duties assigned.

The Iraqi Navy has one Saettia class Patrol Ship, five Preditor class Patrol Boats, 26 Defender class small Patrol Boats, and 24 Fast Attack Boats (FAB). The 50 Defenders and FABs are used by the two Marine battalions.

The Iraqi Navy is receiving three more Saettia class Patrol Ships at a rate of one vessel per quarter. All four Patrol Ships are to be operational and in Iraq by the summer of 2010. Also, there are 15 35-meter Patrol Boats are on order. The first four are to be delivered by the end of 2010 and the remaining 11 in 2011. This is a replacement order for 15 Malaysian built Patrol Boats that were to be delivered by 2011. The Malaysian order was cancelled due to inability to deliver.

The Iraqi Navy’s major units are the 1st (Patrol Boat) Squadron, 1st Marine Commando Battalion, and 2nd Marine Security Battalion. The Navy plans to form three more Patrol Boat Squadrons (1 Patrol Ship/5 Patrol Boats each) and an auxiliary support squadron. The replacement order for two auxiliary ships has not been reported.

[Retain Mike]

since 2003 I have never heard of a seizure of arms on the river Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The NVA used the Ho Chi Ming trail because the Navy shut down the ocean and river routes, not because it was preferred. An adequate coast guard would have enfeebled the insurgents.

[DJ Elliott]

The rivers are patroled by
1. the Iraqi DBE Coastal Border Guard,
2. the IA divisional engineer Boat Companies,
3. the IP River Police,
4. and the US Army, Marine, and Navy Boat units.

Put that together with air and the rivers are well covered.

Plenty of arms have been found on islands in the Tigris and Euphraties since 2003. The last report of such a raid was in 2008.

Given the extensive road network in Iraq, the rivers are not the primary transport route compared to Vietnam...

[DJ Elliott]

One other detail.

The primary sources of smuggling arms into Iraq are via/from Iran and Syria. The rivers do not support traffic from those sources...

[Retain Mike]

Thank you for the info.

[Retain Mike]

Wait a minute. The fact Iraq is doing an adequate job of patrolling means the insurgents have already been forced into land smuggling from the more efficient water routes. BZ!

[DJ Elliott]

Just to give you a rough count of Iraqi riverine forces in Basrah Province.
- Iraqi Navy has the coast areas and the terminals.
- DBE Coastal Border Guards has 30 PBs and works the Shatt-al-Arab up to where the Tigris and Euphraties split.
- I do not have a count of boats in the 10th DBE Brigade but, they work the Hawar Marshes of north Basrah/south Maysan Provinces.
- 14th IA Div has an Assault Boat Company.
- And Basrah IP has a riverine SWAT Battalion.

That is just Basrah Province...
(The first Riverine units of the ISF were formed in Anbar, Baghdad, and Basrah Provinces starting in 2005.)