In June the first of a new generation of Italian-made patrol boats will sail 5,500 nautical miles from Taranto through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, Gulf of Aden off Somalia, Straits of Hormuz and into Iraqi sovereign waters.

Concerns about the crew's experience and doubts about whether the new vessel will be equipped with suitable weapons has led British officers to contemplate armed protection at key points of the month-long trip.

"This is a big undertaking for the Iraqi navy and various measures are being considered to de-risk their journey," said Captain Richard Ingram, head of the Royal Navy team that trains Iraqi sailors at Umm Qasr, south of Basra.

"As you can imagine, the Iraqi Navy has not done anything like this for quite some time and safety on the 5,500-mile journey has been considered very carefully."

Iraq's navy is currently rebuilding itself after being destroyed in the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 US-led invasion. It now has about 2,000 sailors, and defence chiefs aim to boost its manpower to 6,500 in the next two to three years.

The long voyage from Italy will be the first time the new navy has travelled outside Arabian waters, and is the first such journey for the force in decades.

Thirty-one men are currently being trained in Italy to sail the 390-tonne Saettia-class patrol ship back along the piracy-hit route.

Ingram would not specify what measures would be taken, but another Royal Navy officer said it was "probable that there would be some support" for the Iraqi ship.

"It would probably mean an escort by frigates or destroyers during dangerous parts of the journey," a third officer said.

Iraqi officers told AFP that they had safety concerns about the journey.

"We might have some problems in the Gulf of Aden," one experienced officer told AFP. "Our sailors are not overly optimistic at this stage as they lack experience, but they shouldn't because they are doing well."

US, European and Chinese naval ships have been sent to the waters off Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates attacked more than 100 vessels last year.

In the latest incident a Danish warship on Thursday thwarted an attack by armed pirates on a Chinese vessel, the US Naval Forces Central Command said.

Chinese state media earlier reported that Chinese naval forces had foiled a pirate assault on a Liberian-flagged Italian merchant ship on Tuesday in the same area.

The purchase of the Italian-built ships comes as Iraq's navy ups its responsibilities in the Arabian Gulf south of Umm Qasr, an economically vital port that is home to two oil terminals.

At the end of April, Iraqi Marines will take on point defence -- manning defensive guns -- at the smaller terminal, Khwar Al Amara Oil.

This is the first stage of taking total control of both it and the larger Al Basra terminal 10 kilometres (six miles) away from coalition forces by the end of 2011.

Oil income makes up 98 percent of Iraqi state revenue, which has suffered from the fall in the price of crude on world markets and twice forced the government to slash its budget.

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