KUWAIT MAY RE-REGISTER GULF TANKERS - NEWSPAPER
Kuwait may re-register part of its
tanker fleet with foreign flag jurisdictions, including the
U.S. And USSR, in an attempt to protect them from Iranian
missile attacks in the Gulf war zone, U.S. Officials were
quoted by the New York Times as saying.
    The transfers would allow the country of registration to
escort Kuwaiti-owned ships in the Gulf. Kuwait had earlier
declined an offer of U.S. Naval escorts as too public an
admission of its need for protection, they said.
    Kuwait is also looking at flagging-out to European
registries, the officials said.
    Soviet flag tankers transporting Kuwaiti oil through the
Gulf may get Soviet escorts, the officials said.
    Kuwait had earlier considered having both USSR and U.S.
Escorts, but the U.S. Was unwilling to give the Soviet Union a
naval role in the region, the newspaper quoted the officials as
saying.
    Kuwait has backed Iraq in the seven-year war against Iran
and its ships have increasingly been the target of Iranian
attacks.
    The U.S. And Kuwait have been negotiating for over a month
on methods of protecting Kuwaiti ships.
 REUTER
