The latest

BINARY STAR, formerly KURDOS III, entered Iraq’s Khor al-Zubair port between August 8 and 16, 2026, before moving toward ports in the UAE and Oman, vessel-tracking data showed. The call has intensified scrutiny of vessel screening in Iraq’s petroleum trade because Washington sanctioned the tanker over its earlier role transporting Iranian products. Its presence at the port alone does not establish that it loaded Iraqi petroleum or that Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil, SOMO, chartered or nominated it.

Details

• Sanctions record: The U.S. Treasury designated KURDOS III in December 2025, saying it had transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian fuel oil and bitumen since early 2025. European and British authorities later imposed additional sanctions. Databases recorded subsequent changes to its name, flag and operating information, practices associated with opaque shipping trades.
• Public questions: Iraqi transport economist and international transport consultant Ziad al-Hashimi asked SOMO and the Oil Ministry to identify the tanker’s activity, charterer and cargo. He also sought an explanation for its admission, whether SOMO approved it and why a vessel on international sanctions lists was allowed to operate there.
• Fixed identifier: The tanker’s IMO number, 9380570, remains unchanged despite alterations to its name or flag, making its sanctions history identifiable in standard due-diligence checks. Al-Hashimi said protecting Iraq’s energy interests requires screening vessel identities, safeguarding cargo origin and shielding the oil-marketing system from links to sanctions evasion or smuggling.
• Earlier network: In September 2025, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a network led by Iraqi-Kittitian businessman Waleed al-Samarra’i. It alleged the network blended Iranian and Iraqi petroleum through ship-to-ship transfers in the Arabian Gulf and Iraqi ports, then marketed cargoes as Iraqi-origin oil. Treasury estimated it generated about $300 million annually for Iran and its partners, but did not accuse SOMO of operating it.
• Official response: SOMO and Iraq’s Oil Ministry have repeatedly rejected claims that the official export system facilitates Iranian oil laundering. They said Iraqi crude exports follow documented international procedures and that sanctioned companies and vessels are not supposed to participate. Exploitation of Iraqi documents, ports or officials does not itself amount to participation by SOMO.

Background

Other Treasury actions described alleged schemes mixing Iranian petroleum with Iraqi oil and using forged Iraqi documents, including kickbacks to some officials. West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center examined allegations involving fraudulent paperwork, purported SOMO bills of lading, AIS manipulation, ship-to-ship transfers and blending intended to obscure Iranian cargo origin.

What’s next

Releasing the August 2026 cargo manifest, bill of lading, vessel nomination, charterer and buyer identities, port-agent records and any SOMO authorization will determine whether BINARY STAR merely entered the port or handled an Iraqi petroleum cargo, and who approved the call.