The Ministry of Transport announced today, Monday, that the Iraqi Maritime Line is preparing to resume its commercial shipping operations in the Gulf region after a hiatus of more than 50 years.
A ministry statement said that, “under the directives of Minister of Transport Wahab al-Hassani, and as part of his plans to activate national carriers and strengthen their role in transport and trade, the Iraqi Maritime Line (Iraqi Line) is preparing to resume its commercial shipping operations in the Gulf region after a hiatus of more than half a century.”
It added that “the Iraqi Maritime Line’s first voyage is scheduled to depart on October 15 of this month from Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates to Umm Qasr Port in Iraq, in a move that will return the national maritime carrier to regional trade routes and provide a national option for transporting containers and goods.”
The statement continued that “the return of the Iraqi Maritime Line aims to enhance the movement of goods through Iraqi ports, support trade with countries in the region, increase the national carrier’s presence on regional maritime transport routes, and align with the Ministry of Transport’s efforts to develop the transportation system across its various modes and activate its operational capabilities.”
It is noteworthy that the last voyages conducted by Iraqi cargo ships in the region date back to the mid-1960s, making the resumption of the Maritime Line’s operations an important milestone in reactivating national carriers and developing Iraq’s maritime transport sector.
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