Iraqi Navy raises alert to protect maritime routes

2026-03-14 - 18:04

Shafaq News- Basra The Iraqi Navy has raised its combat readiness to secure the country’s territorial waters, four days after oil tankers were targeted near Basra in southern Iraq. In a statement on Saturday, the Iraqi Army General Staff said Naval Forces Commander Mazen Kabayan ordered units to increase operational preparedness to protect maritime routes and safeguard oil and commercial ports, describing them as a vital artery of Iraq’s economy. The directive follows a series of maritime security incidents earlier this month. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker SAFESEA VISHNU and the Maltese-flagged ZEFYROS were targeted inside Iraqi waters near Basra, while a Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker anchored near Iraq’s Khor al-Zubair port likely sustained a hull breach after an explosion. In response, Iraq’s Oil Ministry warned that international maritime routes and energy infrastructure must remain outside regional conflicts, stressing that attacks on shipping lanes endanger civilian lives and maritime workers and risk wider economic consequences for millions of people.