Chapter 178 Naval Battle in the Persian Gulf (1)
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In the Persian Gulf, the Suez-class oil tanker Demeter Goddess belonging to the Mediterranean Shipping Group is sailing on the route to South Africa. The mercenaries on board are fully armed and observing the situation on the sea to prevent surprise attacks by the Iraqi Navy. .
The Iran-Iraq War has entered its eighth year. The long war has dragged down the finances of Iraq and Iran. The two sides have used all means including chemical weapons, but the battle situation is still in a stalemate. As a result, Iraq and Iran began to target each other's economic lifelines. Iraq announced that it would attack all transport ships (including oil tankers from Arab countries) that entered the Persian Gulf carrying Iranian oil. At the beginning, no one in the world took what this country with a coastline of only 60 kilometers said seriously, until the world’s largest supertanker, the Knock Nevis, was sunk by the Iraqi Air Force with Exocet missiles. After the freighter was sunk by the Iraqi navy, the whole world knew that Iraq was real.
The attack on ships in Iraq caused huge losses to the oil business of the Glencore Group, and Mediterranean Shipping even lost a Suez-class freighter. In order to maintain his own safety, Seriosha had to ask the newly established international risk consulting company to send mercenary troops to the Persian Gulf to maintain navigation safety.
For the Exocet missiles in the hands of the Iraqi Air Force, it is impossible to defend against these mercenaries on the tanker alone. Their anti-aircraft weapons can only deal with helicopters and attack aircraft flying at medium and low altitudes. If the plane launches Exocet missiles beyond visual range, there is nothing the mercenaries can do with the weapons in their hands. However, the Iran-Iraq region is now an arms embargo area explicitly banned by the United Nations. The Exocet missiles are naturally within the scope of the embargo. The Exocet missiles in the hands of the Iraqi Air Force use one less than one, and it seems very wasteful to use the Exocet missiles to deal with tankers. , not every tanker is so lucky.
Therefore, the main opponent of the mercenaries on board is actually the Iraqi navy. Because Iraq's coastline is only 60 kilometers, the Iraqi navy is not strong. The largest surface ship of the Iraqi navy is the Seawolf class built in Italy. A frigate. In addition, most of the surface ships of the Iraqi Navy are mainly torpedo boats and missile boats. Their strength is similar to that of the National Coast Guard of the United States. When fighting such an opponent, the mercenaries of the international risk consulting company Still very confident.
Maybe God really didn't want the Mediterranean Shipping Company's journey to go too smoothly. Just a few hundred nautical miles away from the Strait of Hormuz, the mercenaries standing guard at the stern issued a warning signal, and soon the ship's radio The communication equipment received a warning from the Iraqi Navy.
"Goddess of Demeter, please pay attention. We are the Iraqi maritime armed forces. We suspect that what you are transporting is oil from Iran. Please stop the ship and cooperate with the inspection. Otherwise, we will take violent action and you will be responsible for all consequences... ..."
Accompanied by the sharp broadcast on the radio, the crew on the Demeter Goddess was completely terrified. This modern Suez-class ocean-going tanker is equipped with a total of forty-five sailors.
Twenty mercenaries, the weapons on board are only individual missiles and M2 Browning machine guns, as well as the US military standard M16A4 assault rifles, that's all.
Just after the battle alarm sounded, the torpedo boats of the Iraqi Navy followed closely behind, and the mercenaries of the attack risk consulting company obtained authorization to use force from the captain. This authorization was issued by the Swiss headquarters of Mediterranean Shipping Co., Ltd. Yes, MSC has a mafia background, and they will never allow themselves to suffer even the slightest grievance, even if the opponent is a sovereign country.
"Everyone get into combat position immediately, contact the headquarters for support!" The mercenaries of the International Risk Consulting Company are veterans who have fought many battles. They are not called the Navy in the name of Iraq, which is not even as good as the US Coast Guard. The Navy was intimidated. Moreover, sinking a 120,000-ton Suez-class tanker is not easy for a torpedo boat. The specific gravity of oil is lighter than that of sea water. Even if it is hit by a torpedo, it will absorb the power of the explosion. Water tanks, unless most of the water-proof tanks are filled with water, will not sink. As for the flying fish missile, its power is not comparable to that of a torpedo.
In less than five minutes, machine guns were set up on the stern of the Goddess of Demeter and on the side of the ship near the stern, and the machine gunners were already in place. There were also several people aiming at the ship with individual anti-armor weapons. Torpedo boats approaching. In terms of speed, oil tankers are definitely not opponents of speedboats, especially fully loaded oil tankers. Otherwise, how would the famous Somali pirates use civilian fishing boats to hijack modern ocean-going oil tankers?
Just after the distance between the two ships was within range, the mercenaries of the International Risk Consulting Company fired the first shot. Since escape is impossible, fighting is the only way of escape. As an anti-armor missile was fired from the stern side of the Goddess of Demeter, all the firepower on the ship was concentrated on the Iraqi missile speedboat. The target, this sudden attack caught the Iraqi navy on the missile speedboat by surprise. First, a missile exploded near their cabin, and then a sailor who was standing at the bow to observe the situation was interrupted by the flying bullet. .
"Damn it, bastard, everyone is in position and ready to launch torpedoes!" The commander of the missile speedboat was irritated by the opponent's unprepared attack. He had already thrown aside the plan to hijack the oil tanker formulated by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. I want to use a torpedo to send this 120,000-ton large oil tanker to the bottom of the sea.
After 20 minutes of preparation, a torpedo was launched into the sea from the missile speedboat. Because the two ships were too close, the torpedo exploded at the stern without any accident. However, it is not easy to sink a Suez-class oil tanker full of crude oil. The Goddess Demeter only shook for a while, and it was still driving normally. If the Goddess Demeter was to sink, it would not be destroyed unless it was directly blown up. The keel is only possible, but the draft of this ship is not generally deep, and it is not easy to explode near the keel.
"Quick, throw all the containers into the sea!" Shortly after the torpedo exploded, the mercenaries on the Demeter Goddess began to use the containers as bait to block the torpedo attack.