Summary
Content
Bulletin No 23
as of 31 July 2003
In addition sector/country specific reports are released regularly in order to provide in-depth coverage of priority areas.
Contact details for all UNJLC offices are available on the UNJLC website.
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CONTENTS
British Customs and Immigration officers have completed a one month countrywide assessment of Iraqi Entry Points in consultation with the Coalition. This report is now being published on the UNJLC website. On the 29th July, the Iraqi railways were hit by two acts of sabotage. One bomb blew up the tracks 153 kms north of Baghdad while the second took out a section 43km south of the capital. An LPG shortage is seriously affecting the most vulnerable elements of the populace. The diesel crisis has the potential to seriously impede the work of humanitarian organizations. On the 30th July, UNJLC unveiled plans on supplying diesel and gasoline to UN agencies in Baghdad similar to the one setup in Basrah. UNJLC has concentrated its staff in Northern Iraq into one office in Erbil mainly due to security concerns. Additionally, the offices in Al Hillah and Kuwait were closed this week. 2. SECURITYIraq: Baghdad: Security phase 4. It is reported that the region around Baghdad is becoming increasingly unstable. In Baghdad, the greatest number of attacks against the Coalition are reported on access routes in and out of the capital, leading to the view that the attacks are aimed at isolating the capital. Mosul: Security phase 4. A number of security incidents have been reported in the northern governorates mainly involving small arms and RPG attacks reinforcing the concerns about the security situation in the North. Basrah: Security phase 4. There have been no incidents reported at the Safwan border crossing point or on the road between Safwan and Nasiriyah, probably due to the increase in coalition patrols this week. Shopkeepers selling alcohol have been targeted this week with rocket and small arms attacks. Al Hillah: Security phase 4. Following attacks on humanitarian targets, the roads between Baghdad and Al Hillah (routes 1 and 8) are, for the time being, closed to UN traffic. Jordan: The country remains at security phase 1. A complete daily listing of security incidents can be found in the “latest press releases” section of the www.centcom.mil. 3. AIR OPERATIONSThe rolling 7-day flight programme continues to be published under the “passenger schedules” section on the UNJLC website. It is hoped that their will soon be “intercity” connections between Baghdad, Basrah and Erbil. The UNHAS flight watch radio service is up and running and will be offered to other operators. We previously reported that when Baghdad International airport is able to re-open for commercial traffic: “it is expected that traffic will be limited to passenger flights for a period of 2 – 3 months. During this period, it is expected that fuel will not be available and flights will have to be able to carry sufficient fuel to proceed to their next destination. It is hoped that cargo flights will be able to operate in addition to passenger flights after the first 2 – 3 months. There is no firm date for reopening as yet.” It now seems that a company called Mayhill Aviation will start to serve Basrah and Dubai from London, Gatwick, UK with effect from 11 Aug. The same company hopes to start services to Baghdad “soon”. Terminal C at Baghdad International Airport was opened to UN passengers on the 23rd July, and then closed down the following day due to technical difficulties. The system has now reverted to the previous arrangement whereby aircraft would use the NGO/Cargo terminal as procedures there are tried and tested. Pending the opening of Baghdad airport, there is a change in emphasis to upgrade facilities and operations at Basrah Airport as soon as possible. It is anticipated that the RAF will oversee most aspects of security, customs and immigration as well as taking responsibility for airside operations and airspace control. There are currently 17 civilian carriers expressing an interest in slots at Basrah Airport. The target date for official approval to operate civilian flights is fluid and initially only one slot per day will be allocated to civilian aircraft. UNJLC has conducted an initial assessment of the Al Hilla airfield and found it unusable (even in the event of an emergency). A major upgrade of the airfield is required before it is considered for use. UNHAS Aircraft assets and utilisation The UNHAS fleet currently consists of: a. Passenger Aircraft. Two Beechcraft 1900 and one Boeing 737 and aircraft based at Marka Airport, Amman. As indicated last week, action is in hand to replace the Boeing with a more flexible and cost-effective aircraft. This aircraft, an ATR 42 with some 40 seats, is due to start operating on 2 Aug 03. b. Cargo Aircraft. A Belgian Air Force C130 and a C130 generously placed at the disposal of the UN by the government of Japan; both are normally based at Marka. The Belgian aircraft is due to depart on 7 Aug 03; the departure date of the Japanese aircraft is not yet confirmed. Air Cargo Report. Since the start of the operation, a total of 1672 tonnes of cargo have been moved by air. In the last 3 weeks a total of 178 tonnes was airlifted follows: Forward Air Cargo Programme. The Belgium C130 is fully booked until its return to Belgium on the 7th August. The Japanese C130 is currently programmed to continue flying between Amman and Brindisi but can be used for other destinations outside Iraq if required. 4. BORDER CROSSING AND CUSTOMSHumanitarian cargo is passing freely through the Jordanian/Iraqi border crossing point. Estimated transit time is 35-45 minutes. In the South, the security situation at the Abdaly/Safwan border (Kuwait/Iraq) has improved as Coalition forces have increased security at the facility and on the road between Safwan and Basrah. A one month countrywide assessment of Iraqi Entry Points including infrastructure, buildings, equipment, staffing requirements and training needs has been completed this month. The CPA, in consultation with the US customs invited representatives from the British Customs and Immigration to undertake the rapid assessment, the full report is available on the UNJLC website. A border crossing map is available on the website. 5. TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTUREOn the 29th July, the Iraqi railways were hit by two acts of sabotage. One bomb blew up the tracks 153 kms north of Baghdad while the second took out a section 43km south of the capital. These events occur following a statement from the Iraqi Railway authorities that services between Syria and Iraq will be resumed with the first Syrian train scheduled to arrive in Baghdad mid week. UNJLC conducted a rapid assessment of damaged bridges between Basrah and Al Kut after there were reports of delays and bottle necks. The first bridge at Al Qurna is located 100km north of Basrah. Despite serious damage, an improvised repair has been made and traffic is flowing freely. The second bridge at Shiek Saad is located 375km north of Basrah. Both bridge platforms have been destroyed and only one of them has been replaced by a temporary Bailey bridge. Forty Iraqi Customs Officials have now been trained in the use of electronic customs and immigration equipment. The first passenger ferry service operated by Naif Marine Services (Dubai) to Umm Qasr docked in the evening of 19th July with 40 passengers. On Sunday, 27th July an NMS ferry docked with 240 passengers and they were processed, including a 100% baggage search, in 1 hour and 30 minutes by the newly trained Customs and Immigration staff. Testing of the container cranes at berth 20 has now been completed and 465 containers were discharged from M/V Westwind last weekend. For a more complete weekly update about Um Qasr see our website. 6. LOGISTICS COORDINATIONOn the 30th July, UNJLC unveiled plans on supplying diesel and gasoline to UN agencies in Baghdad. Fuel can now be obtained from relatively secure locations and each agency will be billed at the end of the month. This is a scheme similar to the one already instigated by UNJLC Basrah. For further details please contact john.levins@wfp.org. UNJLC has also been instrumental in setting up strategic fuel reserves for the Canal hotel in Baghdad. The supply will be exclusively used to fuel an evacuation if needed. UNJLC NGO liaison officer, Neki Kaori, arrived in Erbil to discuss logistics issues with the local NGOs there. One of the significant concerns of NGOs working in the North is the lack of mobility because of security restrictions on travel. There is also a lack of coordination between NGOs when it comes to organising local travel. UNJLC manages a NGO Convoy Noticeboard that is developed for this purpose. UNJLC Basrah is advising the NGO community on how to setup their own refuelling stations. 7. CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATIONUNJLC Mosul met with the Deputy Commander of the 101st Airbourne Division to discuss problems with fuel shortages and distribution. Of particular concern is the poor state of the locally available LPG cylinders which are both dangerous and cause loss of fuel when filling. 8. FUELWith the notable exception of gasoline, the supply of fuels in Iraq continues to be poor. This is reflected in a decline of the black market price for gasoline in several major cities whilst prices for other fuels remain high. An LPG shortage in particular is affecting the most vulnerable elements of the populace. The diesel crisis has the potential to seriously impede the work of humanitarian organizations. The generally positive gasoline situation is made possible only through extensive imports – perhaps equaling domestic production - mainly by the Coalition. Similarly, LPG would be in even shorter supply was it not for imports. No significant diesel imports have been made, although they are expected. The Coalition seems to expect the Iraqi Oil Ministry to assume the burden of meeting the gap between domestic supply and demand through imports within two months. It is unclear whether this can be achieved in the time available. Export smuggling of diesel, instability of electricity from the national power grid to refineries, gas plants and upstream operations, security of pipelines, and general security continue to be the most critical factors that need to be addressed in order to boost domestic supplies. Nevertheless, if the industry is to meet national demand, it will have to double production of gasoline, diesel and kerosene from present levels, and quadruple LPG output. On the positive side, generally improved power supplies to refineries has led to a steady increase in the production of refined products during July. There have been exceptions, but declines in some refineries have been offset by increased production in others. Nevertheless, the downstream element of the industry is still working significantly below nominal capacity owing to pipeline sabotage limiting the feed of crude to refineries, and the inability of the refineries to process the crude into sufficient quantities of lighter products. New LPG production from the Southern Gas Plant and new imports into the south during August may improve the LPG supply situation by September. However, effective distribution remains a challenge with pipeline problems and insufficient trucking capacity. An LPG crisis is expected to persist throughout the summer. This may be followed by a kerosene crisis in winter if the refineries are unable to ramp up production sufficiently. For the complete version of the UNJLC weekly fuel bulletin see the website. For Fuel availability in Iraq please see the website. 9. OTHERUNJLC has concentrated its staff in Northern Iraq into one office in Erbil mainly due to security concerns. Additionally, the offices in Al Hillah and Kuwait were closed this week. UNJLC Baghdad is still actively working with the NGO community to improve the NGO radio network. UNHAS/UNJLC contact information. Passenger Bookings: Saba Jamil and Bartholemou Dias Regional Air Coordinator: Paul Steiner Air Cargo: Kjersti Bang |
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