Tiny Iraq navy to flex muscle as oil guardian

By Ian Simpson

UMM QASR, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's fledgling navy of battered patrol boats is bulking up for a greater role in protecting the country's economic heart, its offshore oil terminals, officials said.

Putting on muscle to protect the two terminals that account for 90 percent of Iraq's revenues, the tiny navy is aiming to boost manpower by about a third to 2,500 in two years and greatly expand its fleet, now centred on five Chinese-made Predator patrol boats.

More control over its wreck-ridden waters at the head of the Gulf is another sign of Iraq's determination to secure its oil infrastructure and reserves, the world's third largest.

A military crackdown three months ago on Shi'ite militias restored government control over Basra province, site of the navy's riverside base at Umm Qasr.

"We're continuing to work year by year on what will come next. The Iraqi navy will be transformed into something bigger than it is now," operations chief Commodore Ahmed Maarij, a 25-year navy veteran, told Reuters on Monday.

The navy's goal is to take on more duties from U.S., British and Australian warships that now patrol the two terminals, the al-Basra facility, capable of loading four tankers, and the single-berth Khur al-Amaya.

The fleet's tiny size means only one Iraq vessel at a time can make the four-hour voyage out of the muddy Khur Abdullah waterway to the terminals to join the patrol.

Iraqi marines, also expanding under the navy growth programme, are stationed on the terminals.