Iraq Suspends Oil Port Operations After Tanker Attacks

Farhan al-Fartousi, Director General of the state-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), said oil port operations had been halted while commercial ports continued functioning.

“The operation of oil ports has been suspended, commercial ports continue operations,” al-Fartousi was quoted as saying by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

Ships remain in the waiting area while loading and unloading activities are continuing at Umm Qasr North Port and Umm Qasr South Port.

The decision followed an incident involving a tanker carrying petroleum products supplied by the State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) to the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company.

According to officials, the vessel was operating in a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer area and was in the process of loading fuel when an explosion struck it.

Al-Fartousi said one of the smaller vessels involved in the incident was flying the Malta flag.

Rescue teams from the port authority, working with naval units in the STS area, rescued 38 people from the vessels. One fatality has been confirmed while search-and-rescue operations continue for missing crew members.

Firefighting tugboats from Basra Oil Port were deployed to extinguish fires that broke out on both vessels.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued an urgent warning following what it described as a “serious maritime incident in the northern Gulf” involving commercial vessels.

In updates posted on X, the UKMTO said two tankers had been struck by an unknown projectile about five nautical miles south of Al Basrah in Iraqi territorial waters.

Officials said the attack caused fires on board the vessels, though the crews were safely evacuated.

In a separate incident, the UKMTO also reported that a container ship about 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates was struck by an unknown projectile, causing a small fire. All crew members were reported safe.

GCPI manages several major ports in Iraq, including Khor Al-Zubair Port, Abu Floos Port and Maqil Port, while the Al-Faw Grand Port is currently under construction.

Iraq also operates two key offshore oil terminals — Al Basrah Oil Terminal and Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal — supported by multiple single-point mooring systems used to export the majority of the country’s crude oil.

The latest developments come amid rising maritime tensions in the region following several attacks on commercial vessels in recent weeks.

According to Anadolu Agency, a foreign oil tanker recently caught fire near Basra after an alleged attack in waters close to Umm Qasr port in the Persian Gulf.

The escalation follows ongoing hostilities involving Iran, the United States and Israel after joint military operations that resulted in the death of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Maritime security concerns have intensified in the region since early March.

On March 1, Iran launched a sea-based drone strike on the tanker MKD VYOM about 44 nautical miles off the coast of Oman, killing one crew member.

In another incident, a small craft reportedly struck the Bahamas-flagged tanker Sonangol Namibe while it was anchored near Khor Al-Zubair Port in Iraq.

India also expressed concern after the Thai vessel Mayuree Naree, which was bound for India, was hit by two projectiles of unknown origin while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

In response to growing maritime threats, US President Donald Trump has discussed possible military action to destroy Iranian mine-laying vessels to prevent the placement of naval mines in the strategic strait.