The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, which was privatized in 2009.[1] As of 2011, NITC was owned by funds managing pensions for 5 million Iranians.[2] It is the biggest tanker company in the Middle East.[1] The company transports Iranian crude to export markets and also engages in cross-trading of crude oil cargoes for some 150 oil majors worldwide, including Royal Dutch Shell, Total SA, Saudi Aramco and state-run producers in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.[2] NITC has a capacity of 11 million tons per year.[3]