Word: kharg
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...basic rules of Persian Gulf warfare, every military action produces an equal reaction. Fortnight ago, Iraqi planes struck two tankers near the Iranian oil depot at Kharg Island. Last week jet fighters with Iranian markings attacked the Japanese-managed supertanker Primrose as it was carrying oil from the Saudi Arabian port of Ras Tanura. The 276,424-ton vessel suffered only minor damage, and no injuries were reported...
...once we were in Iranian waters, the fear became apparent. The trip from Fujairah to Sirri Island takes 20 hours and the trip to Kharg at the northern end of thegulf another 27. We waited twelve hours at Sirri before the Iranians gave us permission to leave at a time when they felt the risk was lowest. At dinner that night the mood was somber, and people were silent. You could feel the tension growing. Everyone seemed to share the terrible feeling that, at twelve knots, we were going very slowly...
...night passed without incident. By mid-afternoon the next day, Kharg Island was in sight. About three miles out, the captain confiscated all cameras on board, explaining that no one is allowed to photograph the island. "If you take pictures, it is my life you are endangering," he said. The light was magnificent, and you could see the high white cliffs of Kharg, with tankers in the distance. I kept telling myself what a beautiful picture I was missing...
...stayed a day at Kharg while the tanker was being loaded. That night, as usual, we listened to the BBC and the Voice of America in the captain's cabin. It did nothing for our nerves to hear a BBC report that our ship had supposedly been hit. Later, an Iranian official paid us a visit, accompanied by three Islamic guards in military fatigues. I was dressed in black, but the Iranians insisted that a veil of some sort be found for me. There was nothing suitable on board. Finally, the captain rushed to his bathroom and returnedwith...
...Fujairah safely. As I left the ship, the captain said that he would be ready to go back to Iran in a month. That night I heard that a Turkish vessel we had passed on the return trip had been attacked by an Iraqi jet as it approached Kharg Island...