ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - No ship carrying Iraqi oil has passed through the Strait of Hormuz despite the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Iraq’s oil ministry said on Thursday, citing ongoing security concerns in the vital waterway.
“As of now, no Iraqi oil ship has passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire,” Sahib Bazoun, head of media and relations department at Iraq’s ministry of oil, told Rudaw, adding that Baghdad is waiting for further clarity on the security situation as guarantees are not solely dependent on Iraq.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global oil transit route through which a significant share of the world’s crude oil exports pass. Tensions in the Middle East have disrupted shipping lanes since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February, prompting Iraq to explore alternative export routes.
The United States and Iran announced a ceasefire early Wednesday, but traffic through the waterway has yet to return to normal. Ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon are threatening the fragile truce, with Tehran insisting the ceasefire should also include Lebanon. Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, entered the conflict in its early days by targeting Israel, prompting a heavy Israeli response against the country.
Bazoun said Iraq is currently exporting more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day through the Kurdistan Region to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The shipments include crude from both Kirkuk and Basra.
“The oil being exported via the Kurdistan Region is not solely from Kirkuk.