Policing the golf

All Hands, March, 2003 by Bob Houlihan

Sailors from USS Valley Forge (CG 50) are out in the Arabian Gulf day and night, boarding suspicious vessels, looking for contraband cargo and herding smuggler traffic back to where they are supposed to be. These Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO) boarding teams are enforcing the United Nations mandated sanctions against Iraq.

"MIOs in the Arabian Gulf had a record-breaking year in 2002 with 3,016 boardings, more than twice the number from 2001," said CDR Neil Hanson, MIO coordinator for COMNAVCENT/5th Fleet.

"Part of the success has been the willingness of countries like Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to become more committed and vigilant in their efforts to stop these smugglers," Hanson continued.

"MIO is just one of the tools the international community uses to force the Iraqis to comply with the U.N. disarmament conditions, which were set after the Gulf War," added Hanson.

Valley Forge has three Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) teams, consisting of 13 members each. Each team can be split in two, depending on the mission. Since their arrival in the Gulf, the teams have boarded dozens of large cargo vessels and oil tankers, turned around hundreds of smuggler's dhows and stopped more than 200 tons of contraband dates and 100,000 barrels of Iraqi oil.

Within each VBSS team, there are three sweep teams. Team 1, does the initial security sweep, to ensure the entire crew is gathered in one area, and is responsible for going through all the staterooms, checking for contraband or hidden crewmembers. Team 2, secures the bridge, inspects the crew's passports and ship's papers and gathers all the information on the vessel's communication gear. Team 3 is responsible for the engineering compartments and ensures the vessel is actually seaworthy.

"We've boarded ships that were in such bad shape that water was flowing right past the seal around the shaft, and had to be constantly pumped out' said Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SW) Lance Howell.

For the Sailors on the VBSS teams, this isn't even their full-time job. Serving on these teams is a collateral duty, so on top of their every-day workload, these hardworking Sailors are ready at a moments notice, day or night to man the RHIBs and enforce United Nations sanctions.

"The ship really works it out well for us; the Sailors on all three teams are taken off the underway watchbill, so we're ready to go whenever the call goes out," said Howell.

And it's not just the small dhows the teams are after. These teams go after the big boys Imagine climbing 40 meters up a rope ladder; scaling the steel side of a supertanker, while carrying weapons, radios and other tactical gear, not knowing just what to expect when you pop over the side.

With the large cargo ships, the teams start all the way up at the bow and work their way back to the stern. Along the way, they look for any fresh welding, new spaces or areas that are freshly painted when the rest of the boat has been neglected, or a lot of cargo stacked in one area to hide a void. Anything that looks out of place is suspect.

Some of the larger container cargo ships may take up to two days to search and clear, but these guys love what they do, and they know they're making a difference.

"Since we got here, the smugglers know that if there's a helo in the air, one of our RHIBs will be on the water. The smuggler traffic slows down when we're out there," said Gunner's Mate 1st Class (SW) Michael Webb, a member of VBSS Team 2, and Valley Forge's armorer.

Besides boarding vessels in search of contraband, the Valley Forge VBSS teams also do health and welfare inspections, making sure the crews are healthy, have enough food and water, and ensuring their vessel is seaworthy enough to make the next port of call.

"The conditions on some of these ships are pretty horrendous; roaches everywhere, and fresh water holding tanks that are less than hygienic. We've had situations where we actually brought over food and water to a vessel that was running low and had terribly unsanitary conditions," said Howell.

Although the majority of MIOs are conducted during the day, with the full cooperation of the vessel's crew, VBSS Team 2 recently conducted a night operation. The team headed out in total darkness--no running lights, no navigation lights--only night vision goggles (NVGs) and the glow of phosphorescent plankton in their bow wake to guide them.

"Going in dark gives us the element of surprise," said Chief Fire Controlman (SW) Tim Gallihugh, Valley Forge's assistant boarding officer VBSS Team 2.

Their target is in sight and as they approach, the boarding officer makes the call; "Light 'em up!"

Powerful spotlights slice through the night, illuminating a darkened smuggler's dhow heading south with what appears to be a load of contraband Iraqi oil lashed to her deck.

"The dhows that have running lights aren't the ones we're looking for; they're usually just fishermen, said Howell. "It's the dark runners that are usually the smugglers. But with NVGs, they can't hide from us."