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BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: A total of 18 commercial ships have arrived in Iraqi ports in Basra province this week, the public relations and media director at the State Company for Iraqi Ports said on Thursday.

“The number of commercial ships which arrived in Basra since Saturday (July 17) until today (July 22) has reached 18 carrying varied cargos,” Anmar al-Safi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Nine ships arrived in Umm Qasr port, four in Abu Falous port while Khour al-Zubeir port received five ships,” he added.

The Shiite province of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has five commercial ports and two oil ports: al-Maaqal, established in 1916 by the British forces and handed over to Iraqi authorities in 1937; and Faw, a small port on the al-Faw Peninsula near the Shatt al-Arab and the Persian Gulf.

In the early 1970s, Umm al-Qasr port was built, and in 1974, Khour al-Zubeir and Abu Falous ports were established on the Shatt al-Arab.

Basra is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. It has the seven main Iraqi ports. The first built in Islam 14 A.H. (After Hegira), the city played an important role in early Islamic history.

The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city’s oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock.

A network of canals flow through the city, giving it the nickname “The Venice of the Middle East” at least at high tide.