Kidd (DDG 993) - Naval Cruise Book

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Tanker strikes but continues from the Wlro Ssrvkos AHOARD THE US KIDD 4- One of two Kuwatll tankers flying the American flag htt a mlne ln the Perslan Gulf today. No tnjurtes were reported. but the the ves- sel. the Hrldgeton. took on water. After a br1ef delay, the Hrtdgeton - the largest oll tanker In the Arab world - pro- ceeded to Kuwait. tts dcsllnatton. The explosion occurred on the port. or left. stde about 200 feet back from the bow. satd Navv Lt. Rlchard Vogel. who ls aboard the Brtdgeton. The blast was so strong aboard the 1.200- foot-long vessel that crew members standtng on the bridge. about l.000 feet from the stte of the exploslon. were almost knocked off thelr feet. Vogel sald. The explosion was clearly audlble as a loud boom aboard the Kldd, which was one mtle ld the left and about out'-hall mllc to llte rr-.lr of the Hrtdgetnn. Seconds after the boom, Vogel radloetl to the bridge of the Kidd. which ls the command shlp of the U. S. Naval convoy accompanying the Brtdgeton and the other tanker, the Gas Prince. We've been htt. We've been htt. he told the Kldd The Kldd's captaln, Cmdr. Daniel J. Mur- phy .lr.. ordered his ship slowed to ttve knots, It later plcked up speed again. Extra lookouts were posted aboard the KIdd's bow to look for mtnes. At least nlne satlors were on the bow, some armed with M- l-I rlfles to ftre at any susplctous objects tn the water. At the tlme, all Navy shlps were at general quarters, their htghest state of slert. because mine sailing they were passing near Farsl Island. lran has launched recent speedboat attacks from that Island against. Gulf slutpplng. Gulf-based shipping sources who were In touch with the Kuwait Oll Tanker Co. sald damage was mlnor. The mtne blasted an underwater hnle ln compartment No I on the port side, one shlpplng source reported. OnIy that compart- ment took on water, which dtd not constitute major damage. The sources said the convoy stopped for only a few mlnutes after the mlne exploded. The shtps. which had been traveling at about 16 knots. then moved off at half-speed. The convoy ls expected to srnve ln al- 1' dos O GULI' Page I Gulf: Iran threatens Iraq's allies Q Continued hom Page l Ahmad! alter nlghtfall. local tlme. lt had been scheduled to arrive around midday. The convoy was about 120 mtles southeast pf Kuwalt's Mtna al-Ahmad! otl terminal when the -101 .000-ton Brtdgeton, formerly al-Rek- kah. htt the mlne. The convoy rsn a gauntlet of lranlsn war- shtps. mlsslles and fighter-bombers wlthout tnctdent unttl strtklng the mlne. The orlgtn of the mlne was not Immediately known, but It Is suspected lran previously sowed mtnes ln the maln channel leading to Kuwatt. ln Washington, Whtte House spokeswoman leslyc Arsht sald Presldent Reagan was awak- ened st 2 a.m. EDT by national securtty adviser Frank Carluccl and notlfled of the explosion. She declined to characterize Res- gan'a reaction Rsfaltahbn is U. S. offlclsls have not laid how they would respond to an attack on s vessel flytng the Stars and Strlpes. but have hlnted mllttary retsltatton ls s posstbtltty. . In Tehran. lrsntsn Prtme Mtntster Hussein Musavt called the tncldent an irreparable blow to Amerlca's polltlcal and mllltary pres- tlge. He satd the mtne was planted by tnvlsl- ble hands. lrsn's lslamtc Republic News Agency. mont- tored ln Nlcosla. quoted Musavl as saytng he hopes the wise men In the Untted States have teamed a lesson and fwlll nowl put an end to thelr tenslon-creating adventures ln the Perslan Gulf. The U. S. ambassador to Kuwslt. Anthony Qustnton. sald damage to the Brldgeton will be Inspected upon an-tval tn sl-Ahmsdl. Kuwstt. There are no major d'ry docks here tn Kuwait. he sstd. sddlng the shtp's owner, the Kuwait Otl Tanker Co., will declde whether tt wtll be repaired tn Kuwait or moved some- where else. lt's a matter of considerable rqret that the Brtdgeton was htt. but l'm not ln a posltton to speculate on how lt will affect future tran- slts. Quatnton sald. lrsn has concentrated tts gulf attacks on Kuwaltt shtpplng. clalmtng Kuwait backs Iraq ln the nearly 7-year-old Iran-lrsq war. lt generally has attacked Kuwattl-bound shlpptng only after lrsqt attacks on lrsnlan otl termlnals or tanker traffic. U. S.. Saudi Arsblsn and Kuwsttl teams last week reported they had cleared mlnes tn the al-Ahmsdl shlpplng channels. where shlps prevtously have htt mines. The Brtdgeton was hlt 40 mtles south of that area. Brtdgeton and Ou Prtnce are the ftrst of l l Kuwattl tankers to be reflagged under the Amedcsn flag as part ol' Kuwalt's effort to protect tts oll exports from lranlan attacks. They entered the gulf Wednesday escorted by the destroyer USS Ktdd, the gutded mtsslle cruiser Fox and the frtgate Commeltn. All are part ofa nlne-unlt U. S. task force ln the gulf. The tankers had been expected to begin the retum joumey southward through the wtf sometime next week. What effect the mlne blast would have on that schedule ll not Immediately known. ln Tehran today. Hsshemt Rsfssnjlnl. lran's Parliament speaker. threatened strikes agalnst Arab countries In the gulf tf lrsq hlts lranlan oll Installations agatn. tru-rs news agency Bald. lt our economic centers and Installations are attacked tby lraqj thts tlme. we wtll htt back st eeonomlc centers belongtng to lrsq's allies. the agency quoted Rafsanjant as say- mg. Rafssnjanl dtd not name any countries. but Ssudt Arabia and Kuwslt have been providing ttnsnctsl std to lrsq and shtppt an estimated 300.000 barrels of oll s day orxzehatt of Inq. whose ports have been blocked. 23

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1 GSMQ, Allison iokes o breolt ro fish while- guarding roolsers :rr rhe Gulf of Omoo 2 The Arnerlcoo Hog flies on 55A l5tE CITY 3 GREENCHECKER patrolling the con- vgy A Commodore Yonkers keeps up his signalling Sgrllg 5 JARRETT follows HUNTER ond SIRIKER os they sweep for mines CO VOY SAILS AFELY FOR IT By RICHARD PYLE of The Associated Press MANAMA, Bahrain Three Kuwaiti tankers and their U.S. warship escorts sailed tip the Persian Gulftoday after a secret overnight stop designed to avoid the possibility of an Iranian ambush, shipping sources reported. They detected Iranian military activity between Farsi Island and where they were, said one source, who is in regular contact with other ships in the area. Off Bahrain, a wooden dhow, a private commerical craft, struck a floating mine this morning, other shipping sources said. They said there were no reported casualties, and the ship apparently did not sink. The incident occurred in coastal waters, some distance from the route used by the convoy a day earlier. Mines have been spotted off the Bahrain coast on previous occa- sions, and two children were killed earlier this year while examining a mine that had washed up on a beach. The overnight anchorage off the Arabian coast was in keeping with the Navy's decision to move the convoy through the most haz- ardous parta of the 550-mile voyage during daylight, when helicop- ters and ships can scout the waters ahead for mines. The convoy set sail at daybreak today after the overnight stop, and was expected to arrive late this afternoon at its destination, Ku- wait's main offshore loading terminal at Al Ahmadi. Iran repeatedly has threatened to attack the ILS. warships, and said on Sunday that the gulf would remain full of mines as the su- perpowers stay in the region. Farsi, a tiny island in the northern gulf, has been used in the past by Iran to launch speedboat-borne commando attacks on ships. On July 24, one of two reflagged Kuwaiti tankers being escorted near the island was damaged by a mine. Pentagon sources in Wash- ington said Iran planted the explosive that blew a hole in the hull KIDD continued to participate in every mission for the first nine escorts with the exception of num- ber six when we were in Abu Dhabi for some well de- served liberty. With the Escort Commander, COM- DESRON 14, onboard our role in the missions was 8 big one, even providing the officers to ride the tank- ers with LT Vogel riding the first three missions and LT Young and ENS O'Donnell on the fourth. Tactics and procedures advanced with the developments made by KIDD remaining in use even after our de- parture from the gulf. THE ESCORTS CO TI ofthe supertanker Bridge-ton, Shipping sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the convoy, which does not need to use deepwater channels, would steer well clear of Farsi Island. On Sunday night, the convoy turned out most of its lights as it traveled single-file through the gulf. Preceding the convoy Sunday was a fourth U.S. warship, the guided missile cruiser Reeves, which was exploring the waters, shipping sources said. Small utility helicopters, which the warships carry, were dragging sounding devices through the water to try to de- tect suspicious objects, they said, speaking on condition of anonymi- IV. The convoy was the second to travel up the gulf under a U.S. agreement to re-register ll Kuwaiti tankers to afford them military protection. Iran accuses Kuwait of supporting Iraq, its foe in the 7-year-old gulf war. Each nation has attacked ships involved in commerce with the other. In an interview broadcast Sunday by Tehran radio, Iranian Prime Minister Hussein Musavi issued new threats against foreign intervention in the region. As long as the superpowers intend to be present there and as long as they intend to act against countries of the region, the Persian Gulfwill remain full of mines and continue to be a dangerous region for ships, he said in the broadcast monitored in Cyprus and London. The convoy's biggest tanker, the 81,283-ton SEA ISLE CITY, has been leading the procession, evidently as a bulwark against float- ing mines, observers said. The refiagged vessels are the SEA ISLE CITY, an oil products carrier, the 79,999-ton OCEAN CITY, another an oil products carri- er and the 46,732-ton GAS KING, a liquefied gas tanker. Their escorts were the missile destroyer KIDD and missile fri- gates CROMMELIN and JARRETT. UE 5 25