The University of Basra Organizes an Academic Symposium on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Center for Marine Sciences at the University of Basra organized an academic symposium titled *The Strait of Hormuz and Emerging Maritime Challenges*.

The seminar aimed to analyze the legal and strategic situation of the Strait of Hormuz in light of the rules of international maritime law (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS), and to balance this with the current non-traditional challenges facing navigation and regional security.

The seminar, presented by Prof. Dr. Hassan Khalil Hassan from the Department of Marine Sedimentology, addressed the strategic geographical location of the Strait of Hormuz between the shallow waters of the Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the deep Indian Ocean, its importance as the sole outlet for Gulf states on their eastern and western coasts, and the hydrographic impact of the seabed and ocean depths and their effect on restricting navigation routes, which has defined its shipping lanes and forced ships to navigate through very narrow passages, which necessitates the inclusion of the geomorphological dimension as a mandatory criterion in any international agreement regarding the regulation of traffic in geographical straits and narrow passages, including those located in Iraqi maritime waters. On the other hand, there is a need to focus on concluding bilateral agreements between Iraq and the countries bordering the straits to ensure the security of Iraqi maritime commercial transport, and to seriously consider establishing a national maritime fleet to rely on in exceptional circumstances.