Word: tankers
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...After meeting with Iraqi officials, Rear Admiral David Rogers, head of the U.S. delegation, said he was "certain we have the information to piece together what happened." He refused to confirm reports, however, that they had not spoken with the pilot who evidently mistook the Stark for an Iranian tanker and blasted the frigate with two Exocet missiles...
...Reagan Administration swiftly tried to defuse the crisis, minimizing its significance. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger characterized the attack ; as a "single, horrible error on the part of the Iraqi pilot" who mistook the frigate for an Iranian tanker. Iraq's President Saddam Hussein promptly sent an apology to the U.S. "I hope this unintentional incident," he wrote, "will not affect our relations and the common desire to establish peace and stability in the region." The Iraqis also agreed to pay compensation to the families of the victims and reparations for damages to the $180 million ship...
Indeed, the Persian Gulf has proved to be nearly as hostile an environment for the Soviets as it is for the U.S. About 36 hours before the assault on the Stark, a Soviet tanker, accompanied by a U.S.S.R. navy frigate, struck a mine some 35 miles from the Kuwaiti coast. There were no casualties, but the tanker was effectively crippled. On May 6, an Iranian gunboat opened fire on a 6,459- ton Soviet freighter; it marked the first time that Iran had struck a vessel traveling under the flag of a superpower. The Iranian government reportedly assured the Soviets...
...often illusory. With mines concealed below, jet fighters screaming above and antiship missiles lurking onshore, sudden violence was an ever present danger. More than 200 vessels had been attacked in the gulf during the past three years. Earlier on this day, Iraqi jets had delivered missiles into a Cypriot tanker, leaving it dead in the water. The increasing threats to shipping in the vital region were precisely why the Stark was there, signaling U.S. determination to keep the oil lifelines open...
...missile frigate Hawes provided escort for the lone tanker in the convoy, the 46,723-ton Gas Prince, a liquefied gas carrier...