Port of Iraq

Iraq Sea transport destination

One of the most important transport routes in Iraq is the waterway. Iraq has more than 70 kilometres of coastline in the Persian Gulf. The city of Basra with its port on the Shatt-al-Arab waterway is the most historically significant and located there.

Some ports in Iraq exclusively for oil export

British occupying forces modernised the port facilities during the First World War, which thus became one of the most important bases in the country. In 1919, the British returned the port of Basra to the Iraqis and it has been used for trading ever since. There are two ports in the southern province of Basrah. On the one hand, there are ports for commercial purposes and passenger transport, such as the ports in Umm Qasr, al-Magal, Abu Flous or Khor al-Zubair. Secondly, Iraq has ports exclusively for export of oil, such as al-Bakr, Khoral-Umaiya and al Faw. The port of Umm Qasr has 21 quays and good rail and road connections to the country's main cities. It is also the only deep-water port in Iraq. Around 6 million tons of goods are handled in this port every year. With its opening in 1979, the Khor al-Zubair terminal is the newest port in Iraq. It has twelve quays and is located about 60 kilometres south of the city of Basra. In addition to the loading of food, cement and fuel, dates and oil are also exported in this port. The port Abu Flous is the smallest port in the country and is located about 20 kilometres from Basrah.

Iraq's most important port is five of the world's largest ports

On only three quays, mainly iron, cement and chemicals are loaded here. The most important port of Iraq and at the same time one of the five largest ports in the world is the port Al-Bark, also called Basra Port. This port has been operating since 1977 on an artificially built island in the Persian Gulf and plays the most important role in Iraq's oil exports.