Australian divers clearing mines for wheat ships

The Age - Australia ^ | March 26, 2003 | By Tom Allard and John Hunter

[CobaltBlue]

The delivery of humanitarian aid to Iraq is likely to be delayed for days as Australian and other allied divers work frantically to clear mines from the port of Umm Qasr.

The aid, which is desperately needed in the besieged southern city of Basra, includes a large consignment of Australian wheat waiting near Oman.

Australian navy divers yesterday worked in muddy waters at depths of up to 20 metres to clear the approaches to Umm Qasr's two ports.

According to defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mark "Pup" Elliott, the 25 divers are working above and below the waterline to remove mines and booby-traps.

He said the work was difficult because of the turbidity of the water and strong currents. "These people tend to go by touch and feel," he said.

The divers typically work in pairs, and for only an hour or two at a time because of air constraints and the extreme concentration required.

Anything from a soft drink can to more suspicious items is carefully examined using torches before being exploded. The mines can have motion sensors, so the work is particularly dangerous.

No mines have yet been detected at the port, although last weekend the Australians recovered 60 from an Iraqi barge.

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday told Parliament: "The coalition nations stand ready to deliver massive humanitarian assistance, food, water and medicines to the Iraqi people in the next few days.

"Our own maritime forces are making an important contribution clearing waterways... so this can take place."

Meanwhile, the Australian navy amphibious support ship HMAS Kanimbla is set to be the first coalition warship to go into Iraqi waters.

Three Australian ships - the Kanimbla and frigates HMAS Anzac and HMAS Darwin - along with British and Polish vessels have been in holding positions in the shallow waterway that separates Iraq from the Kuwaiti island of Bubiyan.

After bombarding Iraqi positions on the Al Faw Peninsula for two days in support of British marines, the Australian navy is preparing to secure the way into the wharves at Umm Qasr.

Kanimbla was chosen for the job of co-ordinating the opening of the seaport because of her advanced command and control systems and capacity to operate in shallow waters. Mines remain the greatest danger.

[CobaltBlue]

God bless the Aussies!

[Bitter Bierce]

Within the past two hours or so, Fox News has reported that specially-trained dolphins are being used to assist in the mine-clearing effort. As the war continues, I think we're going to see that the efforts of the Brits and the Aussies are more critical than we might have first thought.

[MEG33]

Not for the faint of heart.Thank you Aussies.

[cherry_bomb88]

And the democrats had the nerve to say "big deal the aussies are helping us".....I say we just let Daschle swim around and pick up all the rubish in the harbor...he's more expendable then those brave aussies!

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Post Toasties]

I must say that I'm impressed by the contributions that the British and the Australians are making in Iraq. They are certainly allies in deed as well as in name, and deserve full credit for freeing Iraq from tyranny.

[The Red Zone]

In the meantime are we using other means to deliver humanitarian aid stuffs? Airlifts, small boats that won't set off the mines?

[Post Toasties]

What 'small boats'? What airlift resources are you thinking of?

[Bitter Bierce]

Small boats can't handle the volume and weight of the quantity of foodstuffs needed, and certainly not the weight of the water which is sitting on large transport ships in the harbor. Airlifts would be an option except that we can't take the risk that the supplies would drift away in the strong winds or land in an area where they could be poisoned.

[MD_Willington_1976]

How about using LCACS ??

The LCAC is capable of carrying a 60 ton payload (up to 75 tons in an overload condition) at speeds over 40 knots. Unlike the Surface Effect Ship (SES), no portion of the LCAC hull structure penetrates the water surface; the entire hull rides approximately four feet above the surface.

[maxamillion]

I use to know a diver in Alaska when I use to live in Anchorage... I don't know if he is still alive today, but I dought it... Back then, the life expency of a diver was about 1 year... Of course, that was in Alaska...

[Bitter Bierce]

LCACS sounds like a great stop-gap solution, but do you happen to know if we've deployed any of these watercraft in the region?

[The Red Zone]

Doesn't this make quite a "dent" in the water beneath?

[Bitter Bierce]

Here's the thread where I read about the dolphins -- PETA will no doubt be hacked off

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/875320/posts

[BfloGuy]

Hats off to these brave Aussies.

dolphins -- PETA will no doubt be hacked off

I had to laugh when I saw the report on Fox about the dolphins. We've been told how smart they are and I just have to wonder if they're pondering their contribution to the Coalition of the Willing.

I always get a kick when Limbaugh asks why, if they're so smart, there aren't any roads or hospitals down there on the sea bottom.

[MD_Willington_1976]

I thought the mines were magnetic..if there wasn't any metal in the water one would assume that the mine would not be attracted to the vessel.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Not sure...

[G L Tirebiter]

I believe they are looking for so called 'influence' mines.

The device is activated when it senses an appropriate change in the water pressure - enough to indicate the passing of a large hull in the vicinity.

The mines are placed on the bottom of the relatively shallow ship channel and can inflict major damage to a vessel without direct contact to the hull.

Sink a vessel in the middle of a narrow channel and you've accomplished your mission.