Al-Jawahiri: Iraq is capable of purchasing giant oil tankers, and the ban is political.
Al-Jawahiri: Iraq is capable of purchasing giant oil tankers, and the ban is political.
9-22-2026
Information/Special…
Oil expert Hamza al-Jawahiri stated on Tuesday that Iraq is capable of purchasing giant oil tankers to transport Iraqi crude to global markets, explaining that Iraq’s lack of a large fleet of these tankers stems from political, not technical, reasons.
Speaking to the Information Agency, al-Jawahiri said, “The obstacle preventing Iraq from purchasing giant oil tankers is political; there is no technical impediment to Iraq owning such tankers.”
He added, “Iraq does not own giant oil tankers to transport Iraqi oil to buyers,” emphasizing that “the reason Iraq relies on leasing in this regard is a political decision, not a technical obstacle.”
The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) sells most of its oil on a Free on Board (FOB) basis, whereby the responsibility for shipping and associated risks transfers to the buyer after the oil is loaded onto the tanker at the port of Basra.
In this context, the Ministry of Oil has been one of the ministries with the highest investment expenditures in recent years, with its investment spending in 2025 exceeding 12 trillion and 873 billion dinars, equivalent to approximately $9 billion.
For years, the Iraqi Oil Tanker Company’s fleet has consisted of a limited number of vessels of varying capacities, including four large tankers, each with a capacity exceeding ten thousand tons: Baghdad, Shatt al-Arab, Tigris, and Euphrates. According to available data, their combined cargo capacity does not exceed approximately one and a half million barrels.
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