It was intended to serve as Iraq's only "deep water" port, reducing the country's dependence on the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway that marks the border with Iran.

The port facilities were built by a consortium of companies from West Germany, Sweden and Lebanon, with a railway line connecting it to Basra and Baghdad.

Both countries contested ownership of the inlet leading to Umm Qasr as well as control of the nearby Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah.

[7] After the war, during which the port was bombed, control of the inlet was transferred to Kuwait and a large trench and sand berm was constructed along the border.

[8] The Iraqi government shifted much commerce to Umm Qasr from Basra to punish the Basrawis economically for their support of the post-war rebellions against Saddam Hussein.

[9] After the waterway was de-mined by Australian Clearance Diving Team Three, Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron FOURTEEN Detachment ONE and Naval Special Clearance Team ONE of the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy Fleet Diving Unit 3 and reopened, Umm Qasr played an important role in the shipment of humanitarian supplies to Iraqi civilians.

[10] During a debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in late March 2003, British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon somewhat inadvisedly compared Umm Qasr to the southern English city of Southampton.

[12] An American Air Force enlistee, Derek Mohamed Adas, described his war-time experience at Camp Bucca and the poverty of the surrounding area in his interview with the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project in 2013.

Having grown from a tiny fishing village in 1958, the town is laid out in planned housing tracts, with workers living near the previously state-owned industries which employed them.

The port (and its workforce) were dramatically expanded following the first Gulf War, in part to remove vital functions from Basra, scene of a major anti-government uprising.

There are shortages in the higher education services in the city, and most of the students are traveling to Basra's one public university about 57 km, or to the Technical Institute in Al-Zubair region.