Oil tankers are attacked in Iraq; crew member died

Ships are hit by unidentified projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz Two oil tankers were attacked in the port of Basra, Iraq, this Wednesday (11). According to the country’s port authority, the attacks set the vessels on fire, causing the death of a foreign crew member. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp After evacuating around 25 crew members from the vessels, the country closed all oil ports. Commercial ports continue to operate. The director general of the Iraqi Port Company, Farhan al-Fartousi, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that Iraqi port officials managed to rescue the crew of a foreign oil tanker attacked in the country’s waters. According to al-Fartousi, the crew of that ship consisted of more than 20 people. 🔍 The Basra port terminal is considered the most important in the country, as it exports around 80% of Iraq’s GDP. READ ALSO What is known about attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz; INFOGRAPHIC 400 million barrels of oil The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed this Wednesday (11) to make 400 million barrels of oil available from their emergency reserves to contain the rise in fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East. It is the largest release of reserves ever made by IEA countries. Until then, the record had been 182.7 million barrels, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ➡️ The war in the Middle East has put pressure on oil prices, which rose again this Wednesday due to the blockage in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial transit route through which 20% of the oil and natural gas consumed around the world passes. According to the IEA, an average of 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and derivatives transited the Strait in 2025. And, between crude oil and derivatives, global production is 100 million barrels per day. Currently, IEA members maintain more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency public oil stocks, in addition to another 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation. The release schedule is yet to be defined.

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