Baghdad [Iraq], March 12 (ANI): As the West Asia crisis entered its 13th day, oil terminals at Iraqi ports on Thursday suspended operations following attacks on tankers near Iraqi waters, according to Iraqi authorities cited by state media.
Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-owned General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that operations at oil ports had been halted, while commercial ports continue to function.
“The operation of oil ports has been suspended, commercial ports continue operations,” al-Fartousi said. Ships remain in the waiting area, while loading and unloading activities are continuing at the North and South Umm Qasr ports, the report said.
According to INA, the decision followed an incident involving a tanker loaded with petroleum products supplied by the Iraqi State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) to the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company.
Al-Fartousi said the vessel was carrying a fuel supply tank in the ship-to-ship transfer area and was in the process of loading when it was struck by an explosion. He added that one of the smaller tankers involved flies the Maltese flag.
SOMO is Iraq’s national company responsible for marketing and exporting the country’s crude oil and fuel oil. Headquartered in Baghdad, it manages oil sales to international buyers.
According to the Iraqi News Agency, rescue teams from the company, working in coordination with naval units in the area, rescued 38 people, including one confirmed fatality. Specialized firefighting tugs from Basra Oil Port were deployed to extinguish fires on both vessels, while search-and-rescue teams continued efforts to locate missing crew members.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued an urgent “attack” warning following what it described as a serious maritime incident in the northern Gulf involving multiple commercial vessels.
In a series of updates on X, the UKMTO said it had received reports of an incident occurring five nautical miles south of Al Basrah in Iraqi territorial waters.
The information, sourced from a company security officer and a third party, initially indicated that two tankers had been struck by an unknown projectile.
The situation escalated when the company security officer of one affected vessel confirmed that the attack had caused a fire onboard. Despite the damage, the officer reported that the crew had been evacuated safely.
In a subsequent update, officials confirmed that a second tanker had also sustained significant damage. The company security officer of the second vessel said it had been struck and that the attack caused a fire onboard. All crew members were evacuated safely.
Although the vessels were damaged, the agency said no environmental impact had been reported so far. Investigations to identify the second vessel involved are ongoing as authorities monitor the situation.
The UKMTO also issued a safety advisory urging vessels to transit the area with caution and report any suspicious activity.
The agency also reported another incident 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, where the master of a container ship said the vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile, causing a small fire onboard. All crew members were reported safe.
The GCPI manages and operates several major ports in Iraq, including Umm Qasr North Port, Umm Qasr South Port, Khur Al-Zubair Port, Abu Floos Port, and Maqil Port. The Al-Faw Grand Port is currently under construction. The company also manages two offshore ports for oil export and four single-point mooring ports.
Iraq operates two main offshore oil terminals — the Al Basrah Oil Terminal and the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal — supported by four single-point moorings used to export the majority of the country’s crude oil.
These facilities, along with commercial ports such as Umm Qasr and Khor Al-Zubair, play a central role in Iraq’s maritime oil industry.
Tensions in West Asia have escalated further following reports that an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf was targeted and caught fire on Wednesday.
According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, the vessel was allegedly attacked by Iran, with footage of the incident circulating widely across social media platforms.
Sharing the video on Instagram, Anadolu Agency reported that a foreign oil tanker caught fire in territorial waters near Basra, Iraq, after an attack near Umm Qasr port in the Persian Gulf.
The footage showed a large blaze from a distance before the vessel was seen engulfed in flames, with a massive fireball rising into the sky during the incident.
The attack comes amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel following joint military operations that reportedly resulted in the death of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The region has witnessed a surge in maritime hostilities in recent weeks.
On March 1, Iran launched its first sea-based drone strike against the crude oil tanker MKD VYOM. The vessel was targeted about 44 nautical miles off the coast of Oman, resulting in the death of one crew member.
At the time, the UKMTO issued a public advisory stating that an unmanned surface vessel struck the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker just above the waterline, triggering an explosion and fire in the engine room.
In a separate incident, a small craft reportedly struck the Bahamas-flagged tanker Sonangol Namibe while it was anchored near Iraq’s Khor al Zubair port.
India also expressed grave concern after the Thai vessel Mayuree Naree, which was bound for India, was hit by two projectiles of unknown origin while navigating the Strait of Hormuz.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said, “India deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Precious lives, including those of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict, and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing.”
In response to the growing maritime threat, US President Donald Trump and the US military have discussed the possible destruction of Iranian mine-laying vessels to prevent mines from being placed in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. (ANI)
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