The Iraqi National Shipping Line (Iraqi Maritime Line) is returning to the maritime transport arena with the launch of scheduled container services in the Persian Gulf after more than half a century. This decision has been made to restore maritime connections that were disrupted due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Details of the New Services
Reports indicate that this shipping line will use the tanker "Basrah" to transport containers between the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai and the Port of Umm Qasr, Iraq's main container gateway. The first voyage of this shipping line from Jebel Ali commenced yesterday and arrived in Umm Qasr two days later. The Iraqi Ministry of Transport has described this move as the first regular operation of this shipping line in the Persian Gulf since the mid-1960s.
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The Impact of the Hormuz Crisis on the Supply Chain
The return of the Iraqi National Shipping Line to container services comes at a time when Iraq's container supply chain has been significantly affected by the Hormuz crisis. Since the onset of this crisis in late February, a substantial volume of containers has been transferred to the Port of Aqaba in Jordan and then transported to Iraq via the Turaibil border. According to the Jordan Shipping Association, the Port of Aqaba managed 37,182 transit containers to Iraq in the first seven months of 2026, representing a 933 percent increase compared to 3,599 containers during the same period last year.
Major shipping companies such as Maersk and CMA CGM have also introduced new services to meet Iraq's transportation needs. These services include overland routes from the Port of Aqaba to Iraq as well as multimodal connections through the ports of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and the ports of Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Although Iraq's new services are presented as a dedicated maritime connection with the largest container hub in the region, vessels operating between Jebel Ali and Umm Qasr still have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which poses challenges due to existing insecurities. This shipping line acts as a complement to overland services that have become crucial for maintaining the flow of imports to Iraq.
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