US bolsters platforms to defend Iraq's oil

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By Damien McElroy on al-Basra Oil Terminal
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/17/wgulf117.xml

The US-led coalition is building a permanent security base on Iraq's oil pumping platforms in the Gulf to act as the "nerve centre" of efforts to protect the country's most vital strategic asset.

Work on the Tactical Operations Centre on the Khawr al-Amaya terminal should be finished early next month.

The bulk of security planning and co-ordination at the head of the Gulf will then shift from frigates and patrol boats to the platforms of the terminal. The sound of saws and a blaze of welding arcs accompanied construction of a tower of modified shipping containers, the hub of the multi-million pound project, designed to give early warning of hostile action by Iran or al-Qa'eda.

Built by British engineers in the 1950s, the terminal is undergoing extensive renovations to upgrade its defences. "We don't state the exact threat but you can be sure this is part of a layered defence that marks a significant step forward in the maritime security around the platforms," said Cdre Keith Winstanley, the commander of UK maritime operations in the Gulf.