Iraq’s Navy tightens inspections at Basra Oil Terminal to curb smuggling risks

Shafaq News - Basra

Iraq’s naval forces on Thursday carried out inspection and protection operations for oil and commercial tankers at the Basra Oil Terminal.

A security source told Shafaq News that the operations were conducted by the First Marine Infantry Regiment of the Second Naval Brigade at Umm Qasr Naval Base. The inspections took place in the anchorage area where tankers wait before docking at the terminal.

According to the source, the measures include checking crew members, verifying official documents and permits, and conducting comprehensive inspections of tankers arriving from different countries. “The procedures are designed to secure tanker entry, ensure the safety of oil exchanges, curb smuggling activities, and establish full control over the oil ports.”

The security plan follows repeated US concerns that Iraqi waters could be exploited for smuggling Iranian crude disguised as Iraqi exports. Washington has sanctioned several businessmen for their alleged role in such schemes, including Iraqi-Kittitian national Waleed al-Samarrai, accused of generating hundreds of millions of dollars for Tehran through forged documentation and tanker transfers.

Earlier this year, Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani acknowledged that Iranian cargoes had circulated with falsified Iraqi papers, though Baghdad stressed that the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) employs advanced monitoring systems to ensure transparency.