European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 8, 1958, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Be a t u r e Navy personnel and dependents enjoy a dip in British Entrance to has Rufair on Bahrain photos by Burguss Navy unit on Bahrain Island routes ships carrying Black Gold by John staff writer guiding the far East Oil tankers from lefts cmdr Ahearn and jufa1u is a inconspicuous Royal Navy resupply and cons station on Oil Rich Bahrain Island in the persian in one end of a Small White building overlooking the turgid tidal of tlu20thcentury is an air conditioned room with the imposing title of naval control of ship Ping the staff of the shipping control office is Small Only two officers and six enlisted me but its Job is Hie and would become bigger in Case of hostilities when the mechanized forces of modern warfare would place a heavy Drain on the Fuei Oil resources of the Middle it Comdr George officer in explained even in peacetime the military forces of the Are the largest single customer for the output of the two refineries located one is at Ras in saudi Arabia and the other on Bahrain time of he it is conceivable that the entire output of the mid dle East would go to military it is our Job to route the Oil carrying ships to their looking through the windows of the shipping control High Riding tankers can be seen sailing into the persian Gulf in ballast White others leave loaded to the Gunnels with the Black Gold of before a ship someone from the shipping control either ens quartermaster 2c Ahearn or Yeoman 2c Morris goes aboard and hands Trilb skipper an envelope containing the details of the route his ship is to sail to its the area the shipping control Navy men Are primarily concerned is the Broad expanse of seas from the persian Gulf eastward to the Pacific Eckert explained the importance of his office in peacetime As a vital unlit being in Case of sudden in addition to the men named the other four Navy men in the office Are radioman who main Tain radio communications with nearby Dhahran air Field my commander Middle East Force on a Small and make it possible to throw together quickly and efficiently the much larger facilities that would be needed wider wartime the Small shipping control office would have a tremendous responsibility should hostilities threaten the shipping lanes leading from the Oil Rich Middle East to the military forces they might in peacetime the Job is More or less the office is Only concerned with july 1958 the stars and stripes the routing of military sea transport i jests tinkers and Tiru chartered those leased by the for spetfii1 Peri generally two in time of War the picture would Thon All tankers loading from the fuel piers of the persian Gulf would come under the control of the naval control of shipping office for routine through dangerous Waters or conveying the armed escorts of Friendly As Eckert there Are always dangers lurking in the path of seagoing even in this explains Why the shipping control office is manned seven Days a As route encumbrances Are reported to the office by can Nelmin London or directly by the chief of naval operations in the information is relayed to ships ready to depart from the persian Gulf to ports the world typical danger areas that ships must be warned about at according to Are the indonesian islands where there is and the mid Pacific Bikini test area where atomic experiments Are in the Bahrain office controls the shipping lanes that extend eastward from Arabia to Hawaii and southward to Many of the tankers leaving the arabian refineries head for the far East with Gaso line and diesel Oil for forces in Japan and while others make deliveries Guam and the during world War ii this very area be ame the favorite Hunting grounds for submarines Eckert there is no reason to believe it would not become a for enemy submarines in any future Given timely his office a would be Able to route Laden tankers away from dangerous areas and into the Shadow of armed Antisubmarine life for the eight Navy men who Man the shipping control office at Rufair is a constant Battle against boredom my the characteristics of life on the persian the total american military Community on the Island is 12 the other four being attached to the Liaison office of commander Middle East never the when the Small Community is challenged by visiting ships or a nearby re they Are Able to Field a soft Huil team that has lost Only two games to at other times they organize fishing trips in the prolific persian never losing sight of the importance attached to their presence at the source of a big slice of the Oil Supply for the free it