Word: tankerous
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...oddly, prospects for peace. One of the ironies of the seemingly endless Iran-Iraq war is that the chances for a settlement appear to improve whenever the gulf conflict threatens to fly out of control. That seemed to be the case as the week wore on: the so-called tanker war in the gulf was renewed with a vengeance, while simultaneously there was new activity on the diplomatic front. By week's end United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar was packing his bags for a trip to Iran and Iraq that could lead to a lasting cease-fire...
Iran also came under attack in the Persian Gulf last week when Iraqi jets hit the Iranian island of Sirri, 80 miles northwest of Dubai. The strike, which set ablaze an Iranian tanker, threatened to heat up the tanker war, which has been quiet since early July. If Iran retaliates, a primary target may be the reflagged Kuwaiti tankers and their U.S. escorts...
...discovery of the floating bombs in an area once considered safe immediately halted tanker traffic. Oman and the United Arab Emirates quickly dispatched boats and helicopters to hunt for the mines. Gunners tried to explode the devices by blasting them with rifle and cannon fire. Despite the efforts, a small commercial supply ship blew up late last week, apparently after hitting a mine off the coast of Oman...
These disadvantages are offset, however, by the devastation of the tanker war. "In a normal world, pipelines make no sense at all," says James Akins, former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. "But who would be so foolish as to say that anything is normal these days in the gulf?" Thomas McNaugher, a senior analyst with the Massachusetts-based Cambridge Energy Research Associates, agrees. Says he: "Pipelines are no final answer for anyone. Yet it makes sense to diversify, to provide an alternative to being held at gunpoint...
...Petroline cost as much as $5 billion, the network equips the kingdom with the best hedge that money can buy against a possible closing of the gulf. With pipeline access to the Red Sea for shipping its oil, Saudi Arabia can avoid an export shutdown caused by the tanker war and is better equipped to withstand any pressure to fall in line with policies pushed by Iran...