Iraqi Maritime Line Returns to the Gulf with Container Service After 50 Years
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Iraqi Maritime Line, Iraq's national shipping line, resumed regular container services in the Persian Gulf after more than 50 years. The company deployed the 902 TEU vessel Basrah on an eight-day shuttle service connecting Jebel Ali, in Dubai, with Umm Qasr, Iraq's main container port.
Dates of the First Voyage
Accounts of the exact date of the first departure vary depending on the source. Splash 247, citing Alphaliner, reported that the first sailing from Jebel Ali was scheduled for the day before its article was published, with arrival in Umm Qasr two days later. Financial Ports, on the other hand, stated that the Basrah departed Jebel Ali on October 15, 2026, with an estimated arrival two days later.
Context of the Hormuz Crisis
The relaunch comes amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which began in late February 2026 and reshaped container supply chains to and from Iraq. Iraq's Ministry of Transport described the operation as the national carrier's first regular connection in the Gulf since the mid-1960s, an initiative driven by Transport Minister Wahab Salman Mohammed with the aim of increasing cargo flows through Iraqi ports and strengthening the national carrier's presence on regional routes.
Alternative Routes via Aqaba
Given the risks in the Strait of Hormuz, a significant share of volumes bound for Iraq was diverted to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, on the Red Sea. According to the Jordan Shipowners Association, Aqaba handled 37,182 containers in transit to Iraq during the first seven months of 2026, compared with 3,599 in the same period the previous year, an increase of 933%. Maersk introduced landbridge services between Aqaba and Iraq, while CMA CGM offered alternative routings via Aqaba, Jeddah, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and Hapag-Lloyd implemented a multimodal scheme involving discharge at Khorfakkan followed by inland transport to Sharjah or Jebel Ali.
Iraqi Maritime Line's new service offers a direct national maritime link to Jebel Ali, the region's largest container hub, although vessels on this route must still transit the increasingly risky Strait of Hormuz. For this reason, the shuttle complements, but does not replace, the overland alternatives that have become key to sustaining Iraqi imports.
