Indian Refiners Cancel Iraqi Oil Shipments Amid Hormuz Attacks

State-run refiners Indian Oil Corporation and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. have cancelled plans to lift crude oil from Iraq's Basrah Oil Terminal. The decision follows a series of projectile attacks on freighters and Iranian targeting of tankers intended to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Indian Oil Corporation abandoned the loading of 2 million barrels via the supertanker Lila Jamnagar, while Mangalore Refinery halted plans involving the tanker Desh Gaurav. These disruptions stem from the collapse of a truce between Washington and Tehran in early July, which triggered renewed strikes in the region.

In response, the Government of India's shipping ministry instructed shipowners and recruitment agencies to stop deploying Indian seafarers on vessels transiting the strait until further notice. National shipping regulators also ordered vessel masters to maintain high vigilance and monitor navigational warnings in the Persian Gulf.

Iraq's Ministry of Oil confirmed that the regional conflict has driven up insurance costs and transit risks. Spokesman Salim al-Rikabi noted that these factors led several companies to cancel their scheduled loading operations.