The World : U. S. to Aid Kuwait Tankers

The United States is in the process of registering Kuwaiti oil tankers as U.S. flag vessels as a way of extending U.S. Navy protection to the ships in the war-stricken Persian Gulf, U.S. officials said in Washington. Kuwait rejected a U.S. offer earlier this year to allow U.S. Navy warships to escort the tankers through the gulf but accepted the proposal to have them fly the American flag as an alternative. The Iran-Iraq War has occasionally spilled over into the gulf, and Kuwaiti tankers have come under attack by Iranian planes and gunboats 21 times since September. Kuwait supports Iraq in the war.