Shipping Persian Gulf

Iranian gunboats raided two ships in the Persian Gulf on Friday and said its troops were "on full alert" and poised to attack the entire Iraqi border. Iraq reported its warplanes attacked two other tankers, but the report could not be independently confirmed. The Iranian raids on the 13,524-ton Norwegian-flag Igloo Espoo and the Liberian tanker Atlantic Charisma were the fourth and fifth of the week in the so-called "tanker war," an outgrowth of the seven-year-old Iran-Iraq conflict.

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said today that he has won new assurances from top military officials here that China has halted sales of anti-ship cruise missiles to Iran. At a news conference this morning in Beijing, Cohen declined to offer details regarding his extensive talks with Defense Minister Chi Haotian and other officials.

U.S. warships and aircraft sank or heavily damaged six Iranian navy ships Monday as a major confrontation erupted in the Persian Gulf in the wake of the United States' early morning strike against two Iranian oil platforms, the Reagan Administration said. U.S. and Iranian forces fired on each other in the broadest and most direct conflict yet, suddenly escalating what for months had been a war of nerves in the volatile waterway. After ordering U.S.

The Defense Department organization overseeing the return of military cargo from the Persian Gulf has contended to the Federal Maritime Commission that it was overcharged by a shipping company. The Navy's Military Sealift Command also said Thursday that it is weighing alternatives, including a possible lawsuit, to attempt to recover what might be tens of millions of dollars in overcharges by Sea-Land Service Inc. Sea-Land, with offices in Edison, N.J., is a subsidiary of CSX Corp.

Fighting in the Iran-Iraq War intensified on three fronts Friday, with Iran resuming attacks on merchant shipping in the Persian Gulf and both sides firing missiles into the other's cities. Iran also reported advances in its ground offensive in northeast Iraq. It said it captured two small Iraqi towns along the border. In the Persian Gulf, the Iranians attacked three foreign ships transporting petroleum products from the Arab side of the gulf.

As the Reagan Administration proceeds with plans to provide naval escorts for Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf, diplomats and Arab officials are expressing growing concern that the United States may be drawn into an unpredictable situation with uncontrollable consequences. Until now, the nearly seven-year-old Persian Gulf War, while devastating to the combatants, Iran and Iraq, has had little impact on the outside world. However, the U.S.

Although the U.S. military had considerable experience shuttling troops and equipment between America and Europe, little consideration had been given before the Gulf conflict to transporting troops from Germany to other parts of the world. The enemy--the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact--was nearby, just over the border to the east. "Units in Germany never had a deployment mission," says Col. Thomas C.

The war against shipping in the Persian Gulf flared again Tuesday after a monthlong lull that had given rise to hope for a more lasting truce. Iraq announced that its aircraft scored a direct hit on a "large naval target" near the Iranian coast, the customary Iraqi description for a tanker shuttling oil south from Iran's Kharg Island terminal. Iraq's last confirmed attack on an Iranian ship in the gulf took place Feb.

American and British merchant marines working ships in the Persian Gulf have begun receiving hefty "imminent danger" pay, bonuses designed to encourage commercial seafarers to continue to ship military supplies into an area that has become a war zone. The merchant marines--like commercial seafarers of other nations--work for companies that operate under contracts with military divisions of governments aligned to force Iraq out of Kuwait. American seafarers have supplied the U.S.

U.S. warships attacked two strategic Iranian oil platforms today in retaliation for a mine explosion that damaged a Navy frigate and injured 10 American seamen last week, the White House said. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said President Reagan "directed U.S. forces at 1 a.m. EDT today to strike" Iranian oil platforms at Sirri and Sassan in the central Persian Gulf.

With an end to the Gulf War imminent, international commerce--notably air travel and shipping--is beginning to show signs of life, though the recession and concerns about terrorism are expected to stifle a full-fledged recovery. Executives at airlines, hotels and travel agencies say that bookings are up slightly, largely because of hefty air fare discounts. One hotel chain said reservations surged 25% earlier this month after America West Airlines offered half-price tickets in a three-day sale.

Although the U.S. military had considerable experience shuttling troops and equipment between America and Europe, little consideration had been given before the Gulf conflict to transporting troops from Germany to other parts of the world. The enemy--the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact--was nearby, just over the border to the east. "Units in Germany never had a deployment mission," says Col. Thomas C.

Lloyd's of London slashed insurance rates for marine cargo traveling to many Middle East locations, reflecting optimism that commercial shipping won't be damaged in the Gulf War. In an effort to get the airlines back to carrying packages for the U.S. Postal Service, the Air Transport Assn. has drafted a letter to Postmaster General Anthony Frank outlining a screening system to be used by postal workers on mail bound for passenger aircraft.

It is a jet-age pony express, ducking Scud missile attacks to get parcels to businessmen when even the post office is closed. Toting gas masks and antidotes for Iraq's poison gas, drivers for DHL International thread their way daily through Saudi Arabia's sun-baked Eastern Province, close to the front lines of the Persian Gulf War. It is a tricky business. Air raid warnings have delayed cargo-laden DHL turboprops headed for outlying towns.

In a move reflecting doubts that Iraq can effectively strike commercial targets in the Persian Gulf, insurance underwriters sharply lowered premium rates Friday for marine and air cargo going into the war-torn area. Reports coming out of London indicated that Lloyd's of London, the world's largest group of insurance underwriters, cut rates by half for marine cargo going into Qatar, Bahrain and several other Gulf ports. Marine rates into Iran were cut even further--to 0.

Ships have been warned about two more MINES reported in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Navy warned over the weekend that merchant vessels entered the waterway at their own risk due to mine and war threats. The U.S.-led coalition of ships continues to check vessels and cargoes to make sure they comply with U.N. resolutions imposed against Iraq over its Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait.

After Iran announced last week that it had accepted a cease-fire in its nearly eight-year-old war with Iraq, an official in Kuwait said the news has been received in his country with "an immense collective sigh of relief." The official's remark reflected opinion not only in that tiny sheikdom but throughout the Arab states, militarily weak but wealthy in oil, that line the western shore of the Persian Gulf.

U.S. warships on Tuesday escorted a Kuwaiti tanker southward toward a major Persian Gulf shipping channel where British minesweepers spotted at least one mine, believed planted by Iran, witnesses and shipping sources said. Meantime, suspected Iranian Revolutionary Guards attacked a Greek-flagged tanker in the southern gulf on Tuesday night, just hours after Iraqi warplanes set an Iranian oil tanker aflame in the north, shipping officials reported.

American and British merchant marines working ships in the Persian Gulf have begun receiving hefty "imminent danger" pay, bonuses designed to encourage commercial seafarers to continue to ship military supplies into an area that has become a war zone. The merchant marines--like commercial seafarers of other nations--work for companies that operate under contracts with military divisions of governments aligned to force Iraq out of Kuwait. American seafarers have supplied the U.S.

In a sharp and now rare rebuke to the Soviet Union, the White House on Tuesday angrily denounced Moscow's dispatch of military troops to the Baltic republics as "provocative and counterproductive." President Bush's spokesman warned that the move in the Baltics and other restive republics "represents a serious step toward an escalation of tension within the U.S.S.R." He called on Moscow to step back from its "attempts at intimidation."