United States Imports Iraqi Fuel Oil for the First Time Via Syria

Shipping data and informed sources reveal the United States has begun importing Iraqi-origin fuel oil via Syria, marking a first. This unfolds as Iraq expands a new maritime export route through the Mediterranean, established after major trade disruptions earlier this year. This alternative pathway exemplifies shippers' efforts to secure new global supply routes. It aims to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed for months, impeding oil exports amidst regional tensions. Kepler data showed three medium-sized Aframax tankers loaded fuel oil at Syria's Baniyas port on the Mediterranean between June and July. These shipments were destined for the U.S. Gulf Coast; sources confirmed the fuel's Iraqi origin. The sources reported consignments were Iraqi fuel oil, trucked across the border into Syria, then reloaded at Baniyas. Kepler also affirmed these are the first fuel oil shipments from Syria ever to reach the United States.