<p data-path-to-node="2"><b data-path-to-node="2" data-index-in-node="0">BAGHDAD / DUBAI</b> — Marking a historic milestone in the restoration of Iraq’s sovereign merchant fleet, state-owned carrier Iraqi Maritime Line has officially resumed scheduled commercial cargo operations across the Persian Gulf after a hiatus spanning more than five decades.</p><p data-path-to-node="3">The service officially commenced when the Iraqi cargo vessel <i data-path-to-node="3" data-index-in-node="61">Basrah</i> loaded commercial freight and cast off from Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, setting a northbound course across the Upper Gulf bound for Iraq’s primary deep-water gateway at the Port of Umm Qasr. The voyage marks the first time since the mid-1960s that an Iraqi-flagged,<span class=""> state-owned commercial cargo vessel has carried out regular scheduled liner service connecting southern Gulf logistics centers directly with Iraqi terminals.</span></p><p data-path-to-node="4" style="--animation-duration: 700ms;"><span class="">According to statements released by Iraq's Ministry of Transport and the General Company for Maritime Transport,</span><span class=""> the reactivated service establishes a direct maritime corridor designed to capture freight value from regional trade and diminish Iraq’s near-total reliance on foreign container lines and chartered feeder operators.</span><span class=""> Historically,</span><span class=""> the nation’s commercial merchant shipping assets suffered severe attrition,</span><span class=""> asset seizures,</span> and operational collapse across decades marked by the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, prolonged international economic sanctions, and post-2003 instability.</p><p data-path-to-node="5">By restoring a sovereign short-sea link between the massive regional transshipment hub at Jebel Ali and the quaysides of Umm Qasr, Baghdad aims to compress shipping transit intervals and insulate the national economy from escalating logistics expenses. Umm Qasr serves as the sole deep-water maritime conduit handling Iraq’s essential inbound consumer goods, construction materials, bagged foodstuffs, grain, and pharmaceuticals. Cargo imported through third-party intermediaries has routinely faced heavy transshipment markups, protracted container yard dwell times, and volatile feeder surcharges whenever regional chokepoints experienced friction.</p><p data-path-to-node="6">Senior Iraqi transport officials highlighted that the revival of the maritime line aligns with comprehensive national infrastructure modernization initiatives,<span class=""> anchored by the multi-billion-dollar Grand Faw Port development project and the strategic "Development Road" multimodal railway corridor linking southern maritime quays directly to Türkiye and European markets.</span><span class=""> Transport authorities noted that deploying national tonnage provides sovereign freight alternatives for domestic traders,</span><span class=""> boosts federal non-oil customs revenues,</span> and expands training pipelines for Iraqi merchant marine officers and technical seafarers.</p><p data-path-to-node="7">Maritime logistics analysts note that while the carrier faces stiff competition from entrenched international feeder networks and private short-sea operators across the Gulf,<span class=""> sovereign cargo reservation for state procurement contracts—including ministry purchases of grain,</span> white goods, and heavy infrastructure hardware—gives Iraqi Maritime Line a baseline of captive freight. The Ministry of Transport confirmed that following the <i data-path-to-node="7" data-index-in-node="433">Basrah</i>’s maiden turnaround, additional general cargo and cellular container tonnage will be phased into the loop to establish a synchronized, fixed-cadence sailing schedule between Iraq and its Gulf trading partners.</p>