Seven Tankers Load at Once Off Iraq's Coast as Iran's Oil Exports Sink to 300,000 bpd

Satellite imagery analyzed by Bloomberg showed seven crude carriers moored at once at Iraq's Persian Gulf export terminals on Monday, August 24, 2026, with a combined capacity of roughly 13 million barrels. TankerTrackers.com separately confirmed about 13 million barrels loading at the Al Basrah Oil Terminal the same day. Before Iran's war, six tankers occupying the eight-berth terminal at once was normal; Monday's snapshot does not mean Iraqi exports have fully returned to pre-war levels.

Meanwhile, Iran's own crude loadings have fallen to around 300,000 barrels per day in August, compared with a 2025 average of roughly 1.7 million bpd, while Iranian floating storage outside the Gulf has dropped to about 24 million barrels. Iraq says it is exporting close to 2 million bpd despite the Hormuz disruption, and Chinese refiners have been buying more Basrah crude as other Gulf supplies tighten.