Israeli Commandos Trained in Overtaking Gas Rig From Terrorists
The Israeli naval commandos known as Shayetet 13 were trained last summer in the act of taking over a gas rig. During the training exercise, a terrorist incident occurring on the gas rig and commandos raiding the rig from the sea were simulated. The training operations cost millions of dollars and are financed from the public purse. It is the first time the IDF has given publicity to any operations or preparations for protecting Israel's natural gas assets.
Additionally, Israel has ordered four modern battle ships to protect its offshore natural gas assets at a cost of $500 million (USD). Operating the ships and other security measures would cost the state annually an undisclosed sum that could reach tens of millions of dollars. The exact operating figure of the security measures is not known. Israel's defense budget is secretive and, apart from overall expenditure, no details are released to the public.
Critics of the Israeli government's natural gas policy have lambasted the government for subsidising the gas industry with large amounts from the defence budget and for the possibility that Israeli soldiers could be hurt or even killed while defending private businesses interests, revenues, and profits. The government, however, is adamant that all is done in the national interest.
In the summer exercise, the navy commandos operated according to a script in which a terrorist group captured hostages in the rig's control room. During the exercise, the commandos sailed to the rig on commando boats, raided the rig from its base, climbed up and retook it. The forces had to deal with limits on the activation of firepower because of the rig's vulnerability.
"The enemy that would mount the rig is not a terrorist with a Keffiyeh [traditional Arab headdress]–this is someone who understands that this is a strategic asset to the state of Israel," an Israeli Naval officer was quoted as saying by daily newspaper Haaretz.
Watch the training video below:
According to a government resolution from 2013, the navy and the IDF are responsible for the protection of the area surrounding the rigs, an operation funded by the state, though on the rigs themselves there are local security teams hired by the rig operators. The teams are made up of discharged soldiers from elite units of Israeli commando units, such as Sayeret Matkal and Navy Commando, according to Haaretz. Those teams are under the supervision of the navy. In addition, radar systems were installed on the rigs by the IDF.
After last summer's exercise, Israeli navy chief Vice Admiral Ram Rotenberg warned that if a gas rig were to be hit by a rocket, it would cause strategic damage to the state because foreign companies wouldn't wish to come to Israel [in order to develop oil and gas exploration]. "There will be no more gas," Vice Admiral Rotenberg was quoted as saying by Haaretz.
"There is naval terror," he also said. "In the Gulf, rigs were attacked two times. The Iranians and the Iraqis attacked rigs. A year and a half ago a ground attack on oil reservoirs occurred in Nigeria. Our aim is to create a naval superiority. That means aerial control capability in a free manner. Based on this we have developed a concept that includes intelligence gathering and alert," Vice Admiral Rotenberg was quoted as saying by Israeli website Walla New!.
Ya'acov Zalel