NAUTILUS I

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Iraq bans entry of tanker 'Nautilus' at its crude oil terminals

Iraq has banned three oil tankers — two Suezmaxes and one Panamax — from loading at its oil terminals in response to direct exports of crude by the Kurdistan Regional Government over the objections of Baghdad, shipping market sources said Friday. “The United Carrier, the United Dynamic and the Nautilus will no longer be permitted to enter Iraqi oil terminals and other terminals to be used for export of Iraqi crude oil in future,” Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization, or SOMO, said in a notification seen by Platts. The notice, issued late last month, did not give reasons for the ban. Market sources with knowledge of the matter said Baghdad was banning the tankers for transporting crude on behalf of the KRG. Charterers confirmed to Platts that they received the SOMO notice instructing them not to use these ships for loading Iraqi oil. Iraq is one of the world’s largest exporters of crude and is currently locked in a dispute with the KRG about the sale of oil produced in the region.