Shafaq News- Basra
Three oil supertankers are loading six million barrels of Iraqi crude at Basra’s export terminals, a source at the General Company for Ports told Shafaq News on Sunday, although US-Iran clashes continue to disrupt Gulf shipping.
Each vessel is carrying two million barrels. Suriname Prosperity is expected to complete loading at an export berth on Sunday evening, while the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker is due to finish at the first single-point mooring, SPM1, on Monday. The Nissos Heraclea, sailing under the flag of LIBERIA, is scheduled to berth on Sunday and begin loading immediately.
Iraq had briefly suspended loading at the Basra terminal following a drone strike on a tanker on July 16. Operations later resumed, while shipping data showed only three commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz that day, the lowest daily total since May.
No very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers crossed the strait for a second consecutive day, although two tankers carrying about two million barrels each were tracked near the waterway.
Iraq normally exports about 3.6 million barrels per day, including around 3.4 million bpd through its southern Basra terminals, according to Iraqi Oil Ministry figures, before the US-Israeli war on Iran caused the sharpest oil-revenue decline among Gulf producers.