Nine oil tankers queued at Basra port for crude loading

BASRA, Iraq — Nine tankers were anchored at Basra oil port waiting to load crude oil as of Thursday, a source from Iraq's ports authority said. Five of the vessels were ready for active loading, while four were awaiting their turn, according to the source. A port official said the facility, located in the Gulf, was experiencing its highest tanker density since February. The presence of nine tankers at the port at the same time points to increased activity in Iraq's southern crude oil exports, the official said. The shipments to be loaded onto the tankers are proceeding according to the scheduled program, the official added. Basra is Iraq's largest crude oil export gateway, serving Gulf countries and global markets. No further details on the loading volumes or the companies involved were immediately available.