Iraq, Kuwait sign protocol on joint waterway

[unhappycamper]

Iraq, Kuwait sign protocol on joint waterway
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 2, 2008 14:34:08 EST

KUWAIT CITY — Iraq and Kuwait have signed a protocol outlining how their vessels patrol and interact in a joint waterway between their shores in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.

A statement from the 5th Fleet said the document was signed Nov. 11 in a Kuwaiti naval base. U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney attended the ceremony.

Gortney said it was the “first military-to-military protocol” between Iraq and a neighboring country, and a “historic day” for both navies.

Iraq’s coastline is less than 60 miles long and its fledgling navy has about two dozen vessels based in Umm Qasr, Iraq’s main commercial and only sea port.

The area is vital because Iraq’s oil pipelines extend out from Umm Qasr to the terminal platforms in the sea. A tiny waterway separates the Iraqi shore from the Kuwaiti island of Bubiyan and mainland Kuwait.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_iraq_waterway_120208/%2e