European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 4, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Assignment red sea j helmsman Seaman Fadal Avant steers the Stark while chief Petty officer de Messmer keeps watch for ships entering or leaving the Gulf of  Crews search for leaders and sneaker by j. King Cruger staff writer no one gets by the maritime interdiction Force in the red sea says the Navy Quot some ships will try to run along the coast but our radar is so Good we always pick them up Quot said it j g Paul Cook 24, an anti submarine warfare officer aboard the  Navy frigate Aubrey Fitch one of five warships in the Multi National maritime interdiction Force Mif there is the Fitch and two nearly identical frigates the . Navy s Stark rebuilt after an iraqi exocet missile struck the ship in 1987 and killed 37 crewmen a and the Royal australian Navy s Sydney plus two French warships the Force is supported by the  military sea lift come s John Lenthall an Oiler the warships operate close to the egyptian coast in the red sea the Normal patrol area is South of Ras Muhammed the tip of the Sinai Peninsula which All shipping through the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba must pass it s a Busy place the Mif is constantly Alert for the possibility of Quot leaders a ships that pass through the intercept net or Quot sneakers a ships that deliberately try to pass undetected Quot every night the skipper capt Ray Richer reports no leaders or sneakers and we Haven t let anybody through yet says Cook a resident of Simsbury Conn since operations began in the late summer of 1990. More than 12,000 ships have been intercepted and nearly 2,800 boarded to determine whether they were carrying prohibited cargo intended for or coming from Iraq these Days any maritime goods bound for Iraq must go through the jordanian port of Aqaba at the Northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba All shipping must pass through the narrow Strait of tiran and into the red sea where the Mif ships wait Mif boarding parties search All merchant vessels transiting the Strait of tiran a a boarding parties go aboard fully armed they moan business. We be conducted those nearly 2,800 boardings without any incidents and that s the Good part Quot said  Navy capt. Peter w Bulkeley the Mif commander until Early december Bulkeley participated in 100 of the 900 boardings tie directed during five months in command and insisted that All his ships officers also went on some boardings Quot i went on the boardings to find out whether we Aie looking at the right things or not and we Are we am getting real Good at this. Bulkeley said while aboard the Fitch his command ship Quot the Way we do business has changed from considering everything a High threat to one of cooperation and has changed from having to persuade ships to Stop to now having nearly allot them Stop on their own to be  he said boardings last Winter were made around the clock but now merchant vessels Are contacted and  to Lay overnight and await boarding sometime after first Light vessels Are tracked on approach by radars and helicopters the Crews Are queried by radio to determine where they have come from and where they Are bound because the Rod sea is too deep for anchoring merchant ships shut off their engines and Drift while awaiting boarding the wind whipped Waters Oft Ras Muhammad an be surprisingly turbulent the Mif operates about co rules North of when a Terry carrying nearly 800 people Sank m raid december after flitting a read in a fierce storm off the port of Saofaga Mif ships and helicopters helped a r an h Lor the 180 survivors of the wreck winds of 30 Muti Are Normal for the area and can Leach 60 Mph kicking up vicious seas Quot we have had some injuries during boardings broken legs and that sort of  Bulkeley reported merchant vessels to to boarded Are contacted by radio from one of the warships Here s How the Exchange went recently As the Stark queried an egyptian vessel the refrigerator ship the Al Marwa had a Crew of 28 egyptians and was transporting a Load of Frozen meat and vegetables trom Aden to Aqaba. A a merchant vessel Al Marwa Quot radios Chiel Petty officer Harry Haver ump Quot this is  Navy warship 31 the  intends to now exercise its right to Board and search under International Law in accordance with its previously published notice to mariners the in s Inui. Is no harm to your vessel cargo or View be advised  j the inspection team confirms that you ire not carrying prohibited cargo you will be allowed to pro end to y. I destination Quot do you have any weapons aboard a negative Quot do you have any animalaboard7 negative Quot do you have any women or children aboard7 negative then having ascertained the number of people aboard Haverkamp instructs tie ship s Captain to leave some of his or it a whore they Are needed to staff engineering  and the Pilot House anti to Muster the remainder in the open on the ship s forecastle when they can be counted by the Stark s helicopter Crew t he Fielo approaches the Al mar a with pointed machine Gen and hovers at the ready until the boarding is concluded alter an Une v-entlu1 inspection Hie Al Marwa is All. A a 1 h pro it i a i t to Agal a january 4, 1992 the stars and stripes