A page B5 piece by James Dao, datelined "Along the Khawr az Zubayr" and titled "Seals Clear Mines in Vital Harbor," reported that "Naval Special Warfare forces declared today [Thu, March 27] that they had secured the waterways surrounding Iraq's lone deep-sea port at Umm Qasr, paving the way for a British cargo ship to deliver aid as early as Friday.

"But Navy officials cautioned that they might still have to clear a few more mines in the area before the ship, the Sir Galahad — which is moored in the Persian Gulf — could deliver its cargo of food and other supplies.

"The British hope to open 12 aid distribution centers in southern Iraq once the ship unloads its cargo at the sprawling container port."

Those seals, by the way, are Sea-Air-Land units; not the marine mammals.