Iraq

"The gold rush began early in 1978, and the starting point was the least likely for the arch-capitalist John Fredriksen, namely East Germany. Ocean Tanker managed the entire East German tanker fleet, eight ships, and Northern Shipping brokered all the shipments. The Soviet Union supplied the Germans with oil, but occasionally turned off the taps, and then the Germans themselves had to send their ships to friendly Iraq and exchange for oil. Otherwise, Ocean Tanker controlled the fleet, but this limited freedom of action meant that the price Ocean Tanker paid was low. Much lower than what a skilled broker could achieve for individual trips in the market."

"During the waiting period, on the night of August 2nd, Saddam Hussein attacked his neighbors in Kuwait, changing the global picture. For shipowners with large tankers, this was a day of terror. Instantly, all of Iraq and Kuwait's oil production was cut off from the world market. That was four million barrels a day, most of which was carried by the world's aged and rust-through tanker fleet. If Saddam crossed the border into Saudi Arabia, he could quickly reach the massive oil fields at Ras Tanura and shut off the taps for another eight million barrels a day. Such prospects were the worst imaginable for tanker owners. The world fleet of roughly 300 large tankers has no mission without the oil flow from the Gulf. No other shipowner in the world would have been more heavily affected than John Fredriksen, with two new supertankers delivered and six more on order. Steel worth over four billion kroner without use."

"The well-regarded military journal Jane’s Defence Weekly later claimed that up to 70 percent of all the weapons Iran bought came from the logistics center in NIOC's premises in London. At its worst, Iran and Iraq spent almost ten billion dollars annually on weapons and equipment for the war."