U.S. Dismantles Last Fortified Barge in Gulf
The United States is dismantling the last of its fortified barges in the Persian Gulf due to the diminished threat to shipping following a cease-fire in the Gulf War, a U.S. Navy spokesman said Saturday.
The spokesman said the barge, known as Hercules, had been towed to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia and is being dismantled. The other barge, the Wimbrown 7, was withdrawn in December.
The heavily armed barges were used as bases for U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf at the height of the tanker war between Iran and Iraq during 1987.
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