> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Iraq Sends Two Million Barrels of Crude Through Strait of Hormuz - URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/iraq-sends-two-million-barrels-of-crude-through-strait-of-hormuz/ - Published: 2026-10-04T05:46:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-04T05:46:01.000Z - Description: Iraq’s state-owned tanker company has carried two million barrels of crude through the Strait of Hormuz in its first operation of that scale in decades, demonstrating that limited exports continue despite war and severe disruption to Gulf shipping. - Author: TGV Desk - Tags: Iraq, Strait of Hormuz, geopolitics, Global Trade, conflict, War, The Day So Far, Live Wire, has-audio Iraq’s state-owned tanker company has transported two million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz aboard a very large crude carrier, completing its first operation of that scale in decades as shipping through the strategic waterway remains severely disrupted. Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar, director general of the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company, announced the voyage on Saturday. The company did not immediately identify the tanker, disclose the cargo’s destination or provide the dates on which it entered and cleared the strait. The announcement does not mean that Iraqi crude has returned to Hormuz after a decades-long absence. Oil produced in southern Iraq is regularly exported from terminals near Basra and carried through the strait by internationally operated vessels. The milestone is that Iraq’s own state tanker company transported a full two-million-barrel cargo aboard a very large crude carrier, or VLCC, for the first time in decades. The operation gives Iraq’s state oil marketer greater control over how its crude is transported and sold. By carrying the cargo beyond Basra rather than transferring responsibility at the loading terminal, Baghdad can potentially choose between buyers, negotiate delivery terms and seek a stronger price for its oil. The voyage is particularly significant because commercial traffic through Hormuz has fallen sharply during the conflict involving Iran and the United States. Attacks on tankers, military activity and restrictions imposed by Tehran have forced shipowners to reassess voyages through the Gulf. Some vessels have continued operating with their tracking systems switched off, making the true volume of traffic difficult to establish. Before the disruption, Hormuz carried approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil and petroleum products. The [US Energy Information Administration estimates](https://www.eia.gov/international/content/analysis/special%5Ftopics/World%5FOil%5FTransit%5FChokepoints/?ref=theglobalvoice.com) that flows through the strait averaged 20.9 million barrels per day during the first half of 2025, equivalent to roughly one-quarter of global seaborne oil trade. Current volumes remain substantially below those levels, although tanker movements have begun to recover. Nineteen VLCCs, each capable of carrying approximately two million barrels, were recorded passing through Hormuz during one recent week. Middle Eastern crude exports nevertheless remained millions of barrels per day below their pre-war level. --- The Iraqi shipment therefore represents evidence that large cargoes can still clear the strait, but it does not establish that navigation has returned to normal. One successful voyage cannot remove the continuing risks of attacks, delays, higher insurance premiums and rapidly changing access conditions. Those dangers have already placed intense pressure on energy markets. [Oil prices surged as disruption spread across Hormuz and the Red Sea](https://www.theglobalvoice.com/oil-surges-as-hormuz-disruption-and-houthi-advance-rattle-markets/), exposing the vulnerability of export routes linking Gulf producers with buyers in Asia and Europe. Iraq is particularly exposed because petroleum provides the overwhelming majority of government revenue and most of its southern exports must pass through Hormuz. Any sustained interruption would therefore threaten not only international supply but also Baghdad’s ability to finance salaries, public services and infrastructure. The voyage also comes as regional governments intensify diplomatic efforts to protect maritime trade. [Russia and Saudi Arabia have called for the reopening and protection of both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb](https://www.theglobalvoice.com/russia-and-saudi-arabia-push-to-reopen-hormuz-and-bab-el-mandeb/), the two waterways facing the greatest pressure from the widening conflict. For Baghdad, the two-million-barrel shipment is both a commercial milestone and a demonstration that Iraq remains capable of moving large crude cargoes through the Gulf. Its wider importance will depend on whether the state tanker company can repeat the operation safely and whether traffic through Hormuz continues to recover.