Iraq's State Tanker Company Sends VLCC Past Hormuz for First Time in Decades

Iraqi Oil Tankers Co. loaded a very large crude carrier with 2 million barrels and arranged for it to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, Director General Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar said on October 4, 2026 — the first such transit in decades. The move shifts responsibility for moving crude beyond the Persian Gulf from buyers to the state shipper. Previously, buyers arranged supertankers to collect Iraqi crude at Basra. Delivering outside Hormuz could help Iraq reach refiners reluctant to send vessels through the strait and secure better prices, reducing discounts needed to attract buyers to its southern terminals. Iraq's crude exports averaged about 2.6 million barrels a day through Sept. 21, up from 2 million in August but below the 3.3 million to 3.5 million shipped before the Iran war. Baghdad is also seeking funding to buy tankers and pursuing alternative outlets via Turkey and a proposed pipeline to Syria's Baniyas port.