Don’t Bomb Iran

The U.S. military has stepped up chartering of tankers and requests for extra fuel in the Gulf, shipping and oil industry sources tell Reuters.   The three month buildup starting in December “confirms there is going to be a lot of activity, possibly a serious demonstration to Iran” around the Straits of Hormuz, and includes jet fuel stockpiles in Diego Garcia.

from Reuters, Friday Nov 23

U.S. Navy steps up fuel deliveries to Gulf forces
Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:07am GMT

By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has stepped up chartering of
tankers and requests for extra fuel in the U.S. Central Command area,
which includes the Gulf, shipping and oil industry sources say.

A Gulf oil industry source said the charters suggested there would be high
naval activity, possibly including a demonstration to Iran that the U.S.
Navy will protect the Strait of Hormuz oil shipping route during tensions
over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) has tendered for four
tankers in November to move at least one million barrels of jet and ship
fuel between Gulf ports, from Asia to the Gulf and to the Diego Garcia
base, tenders seen by Reuters show.

It usually tenders for one or two tankers a month to supply Gulf
operations, which include missions in Iraq.

The MSC, asked for comment, confirmed the tenders and said there was
nothing abnormal about current requirements in the Gulf, where it has a
large military presence and which is home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

A fifth hire request was recently cancelled, it said.

Fuels specified to be moved between Gulf ports include JP5, high
flashpoint jet fuel, used to power F18 fighters aboard aircraft carriers.

“They have been very active,” said a ship industry source, familiar with
the MSC tender process, who asked not to be named.

“Out of the multiple charter requirements they issue, they usually do
maybe one or two (tankers) a month in the Gulf. They were quiet over the
summer months,” he said.

MORE ACTIVITY

The U.S. regularly carries out naval exercises in the region, moving
aircraft carrier strike groups in and out of the Gulf to counter what it
says are provocative military manoeuvres by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz
and to reassure its Gulf allies.

Iran, which denies Western charges that its nuclear power programme aims
to produce arms, has threatened to disrupt oil flows through the Strait if
attacked.

According to U.S. figures, oil flowing through the Strait, at the entrance
to the Gulf along Iran’s coastline, accounts for roughly 40 percent of all
globally traded oil supplies.

Only last week the navy conducted an exercise to counter potential
mine-laying by an unnamed foe in Gulf waters. At the same time the
Enterprise aircraft carrier strike group concluded a three-day exercise in
anti-submarine warfare skills.

The source in the Gulf, with 50 years of experience in the oil industry,
said the charters were indicative of extra U.S. military requirements for
fuels.

“Bahrain, for example, has confirmed that there are additional volumes
being requested by the U.S. Defense Energy Support Center, including JP5,”
the Gulf source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

One of the largest commercial tanker hires is on a time-charter basis, the
length of time a ship is sought, stipulating a period of 90 days to carry
a range of fuels between locations in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The time charter, which begins in early December and allows for multiple
journeys in Gulf waters, is to carry a minimum of 310,000 barrels of jet
and marine fuel, some of it JP5.

“What’s most interesting is the time-charter in the Gulf. It’s a big ship
and here we have a commitment for a lot of movement of fuels, backwards
and forwards down to the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman,” the Gulf
source said.

“This confirms there is going to be a lot of activity, possibly a serious
demonstration to Iran that the military means to protect the Hormuz
Strait,” he said.

He pointed out that Saudi Arabia had already promised U.S. forces
long-term fuel supplies this year, known as term tenders.

In February, oil industry sources told Reuters Riyadh had raised the
amount of jet fuel earmarked for the military from 1.5 million barrels
last year to close to eight million in 2007.

FUEL CHARTERS

Apart from the time charter, MSC has also tendered for commercial tankers
to move 235,000 barrels of marine diesel from South Korea to Jebel Ali and
Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and 310,000 barrels of JA1 jet fuel
from Bahrain to Mesaieed in Qatar. Both tankers are required in November.

A separate requirement is for a tanker to move 147,000 barrels of ship
fuel from Singapore to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, close to the Gulf
and Arabian Sea.

MSC has ships stationed there, known as Maritime Prepositioning Squadron
Two, used to support combat operations.

In the past the United States has used the British Indian Ocean territory
for long-range bombing raids on Iraq and Afghanistan. Fuel movements have
provided advance clues of U.S. intentions.

MSC, the defense department’s transport arm, supplies U.S. forces with its
own large fleet of ships, but significantly increases the use of merchant
shipping to carry armour and fuels prior to a major exercise and during a
war. (Editing by Anthony Barker)