BAGHDAD, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi oil tanker "Akkad" was inaugurated on Monday at Khor al-Zubair port in Iraq's southern oil hub of Basra, the oil ministry said in a statement.
"We stand here today at Khor al-Zubair Port to celebrate the inauguration of the oil tanker Akkad, following the earlier inauguration of the oil tanker Sumer," the statement quoted Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani as saying during the inauguration ceremony.
In September last year, the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company inaugurated Sumer, a Chinese-built oil tanker with a capacity of 31,000 tonnes.
Abdul Ghani said that the Norwegian-built oil tanker Akkad, measuring 184 meters in length and 32 meters in width, has been designed for transporting petroleum products with a capacity of 32,000 tonnes.
The new oil tanker comes within the oil ministry's plans to enhance the national carrier's role in transporting crude oil and petroleum products to countries around the world, the minister noted.
He also added that the ministry was looking for cooperation with international oil tanker companies to implement joint commercial projects for oil transportation.
Iraq's economy relies heavily on crude oil exports, which contribute to more than 90 percent of the country's revenues. ■
