Iraq Claims Hit on Tanker; Escorts by British, French Reported

Iraq claimed its warplanes attacked a tanker in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, and witnesses said British and French warships were escorting vessels from other nations after a surge in attacks on gulf shipping.

The official Iraqi News Agency quoted a military spokesman as saying jet fighters scored an “accurate and effective hit” on a “large maritime target,” which indicates a tanker.

If confirmed, it would be the 27th commercial vessel attacked in the gulf in December--a record for one month. The news agency gave no further details.

The reported escorts through the Strait of Hormuz indicated that Britain and France might be veering from their stated policy of protecting only their own ships in the gulf, where Iran and Iraq have been at war since 1980.

The latest shipping attacks occurred Christmas Day, on the eve of a summit by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. A key item on the summit agenda is the war’s growing menace to the region.

On Saturday, the British frigate Scylla steamed north into the gulf in a single-line convoy with two Bahamian, two Saudi Arabian and one Panamanian tanker, as well as two British vessels, said Associated Press photographer Greg English, who watched from a helicopter. The U.S. guided-missile frigate Gallery steamed north about two miles away.

In the convoy was the largest tanker currently sailing, the Bahamian-registered, 508,731-ton Esso Atlantic. The vessel, which had been laid up in Norway for four years due to lack of demand, will load oil at the Saudi port of Rastannurah, where it is to arrive today.

Other journalists, watching from a helicopter, reported that an Iranian frigate questioned the convoy ships by maritime radio as they sailed past Iran’s Abu Musa Island.

Headed south was the French destroyer Dupleix and four tankers--two French and two Liberian-flagged.

British warships in the gulf previously have allowed third-nation ships to trail behind their convoys. But such “hitchhikers” normally follow at a distance and out of line from the regular convoy.

According to gulf-based shipping executives, Saturday’s convoys moved in single file, with no large gaps between vessels.

British and French warships, like those from the United States, have stated policies to protect only vessels flying their own flags.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said there had been no change in the rules of engagement. There was no immediate comment from France.

Shipping officials noted that the U.S. Defense Department revealed last Tuesday that it had modified its rules of engagement to protect the warships of other North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries active in the gulf--but not commercial vessels.

U.S. Navy ships have been increasingly involved in humanitarian missions in the past two weeks, sending helicopters to both ships attacked Christmas Day as well as to a burning Cypriot tanker Dec. 12.

One ship hit Friday by Iranian gunboats was the South Korean tanker Hyundai 7. The charred vessel was towed into Dubai harbor Saturday and its crew of 20, rescued by helicopters from the Scylla and the U.S. guided-missile frigate Elrod, were brought ashore.