On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Dr. Eng. Farhan Al-Fartousi, Director General of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, conducted a field inspection of the site where two oil tankers were targeted in Iraq’s economic waters. The visit aimed to review the details of the incident and evaluate the measures taken to contain it.

Accompanying him were Chief Engineer Aslan Abdullah, Head of the Marine Affairs Department, and Captain Uday Qasim, Director of the Marine Control and Guidance Department. Together, they assessed the extent of the damage and the technical procedures carried out by the company’s maritime teams.

The Director General stated that the company had received a distress call reporting an incident involving one of the oil tankers at sea shortly after midnight. A nearby vessel belonging to the company immediately moved to the location. The maritime team first evacuated the crew and secured their safety before specialized tugboats arrived to form a comprehensive firefighting unit.

He explained that all tugboats reached the site around 4:00 a.m. and quickly succeeded in extinguishing the fire completely. He emphasized that the rescue and firefighting operations were conducted professionally and with intensive field efforts.

The Director General noted that the operations were carried out in direct coordination with the Iraqi Naval Force, which was present in the area, and that continuous communication was maintained with the naval commander to secure the participating vessels, given the site’s considerable distance from the Iraqi coast and its location outside territorial waters.

He confirmed that the company’s vessels remain at the site to address the oil spill and mitigate the environmental impact of the incident. All surviving crew members were transferred to Al-Faw Grand Port, where they will be handed over to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior in preparation for repatriation to their home countries.

He further stated that the company had contacted the Iraqi Ministry of Transport, informing the Acting Minister of Transport and the Administrative Deputy Minister, as well as the Minister of Interior. A specialized team has been dispatched to Al-Faw Grand Port to provide support and assistance for follow-up operations.