You Only Had to Ask...

The tugboat was moored in the Khawr abd Allah River, which separates Kuwait from Iraq. A British team boarded it on the first day of the war, looking for mines or other explosives, but found nothing. An American Coast Guard cutter checked it later in the day, and it came up clean. The next day, two Australian inflatables went out to run one final check. They did something neither the Americans nor the Brits had considered: They asked whether there were explosives on board. According to one of the Australian officers, they asked, "So, mate, have you got any weapons or explosives on board?" The tugboat captain "drew a picture showing how the 45-liter steel drums lined up on the deck had been welded together and then split down the middle to make a hinged shelter for dozens of mines," and said, "Explosive! Explosive!" pointing to the drums and a raft towed behind the tug.
Ships carrying humanitarian aid cannot proceed upriver to the port of Umm Kasar until the channel is cleared of mines. The river is being checked by an Australian warship, six British minesweepers, a Sea Stallion helicopter, a Polish ship and a US coastguard cutter. The port itself is being cleared by divers and two trained dolphins.
(The Age)