On this Day 24 April 2004, HMAS Stuart was deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Catalyst. On 24 April, Stuart, the Coast Guard Cutter USS Fireboat (pictured), and the cruiser USS Yorktown were patrolling around the Al Başrah Oil Terminal (ABOT) and Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT), with Stuart’s commanding officer in tactical control of the two American warships.
Around 19:00, a dhow sailed into the KAAOT security zone. Firebolt sent a RHIB to board the dhow and order the vessel away, but as the RHIB drew alongside, the dhow exploded.
Stuart, 4.1 nautical miles away, began sailing to assist, while the Seahawk helicopter, 6 nautical miles away diverted to the explosion site.
The Seahawk and a RHIB from Stuart began assisting survivors from Firebolt’s boarding party; after experiencing difficulty in handling the injured Americans, the Seahawk’s sensor operator dived into the water to assist.[
Casualties were brought aboard Firebolt, then transferred by helicopter and boat to Stuart. Meanwhile, two more dhows attempted to attack ABOT—the explosion of the first dhow was the prelude to a coordinated attack on the oil terminal—but were fended off by the facility’s Iraqi security team and detonated before reaching their targets.
Three of the seven personnel aboard Firebolt’s RHIB were killed, and the other four were seriously injured. The Seahawk’s sensor operator was later awarded the Medal for Gallantry for his actions during the incident.
