Some Iranian Port Operators Suffer Cyberattacks
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Deputy Minister of Roads and Transportation and Head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) says some of Iran’s port operators have come under cyberattacks whose sources were abroad.
Speaking in a press conference and responding for recent halt in container operations of Rajaee Port, Mohammad Rastad said that some port operations in the country have come under cyberattack whose sources were abroad. He went on to say that but the officials could manage it and no ship faced delay in loading or unloading and everything is now normal.
He further said that since the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the country, loading and unloading in the ports have not come to a halt and since March 20 and beginning of the new year, ports in the country have had 19m times of loading and unloading which shows 35.8 percent decrease comparing to the same period last year, and expressed hope everything would become normal and national trade can compensate this lag very soon.
Rastad added that since the beginning of 2020, world economy has been affected by the virus and marine transportation is not an exception, either, because it is part of global economy.
He said the global order for building vessels and ship has nosedived, adding that the order for building ship has fallen by 71 percent.
He further said the price of renting a ship was once $35,000 per day but because of the pandemic, the price has slumped to even lower than $5,000 in the first quarter of the year.
Rastad reiterated that the pandemic had the most negative impact on marine tourism than marine trade and all marine voyages have almost halted in the country.
He said despite observing all sanitary protocols, the number of marine passengers in the country has decreased by 97 percent this year.
On the amount of basic goods in the ports, he said some 4.154m tons of basic goods are currently in the ports, of which over 3m tons are at Imam Khomeini Port.
Rastad added that currently 25 ship have berthed at ports while they are unloading their cargos which weigh around 588,782 tons and 23 more ship are waiting to berth whose cargo weighs some 1.7m tons.
He further said corn, wheat, barley, soya, oil seed and rice are of the major commodities in the ports.
He stated the total government and non-government investment in the national commercial ports till the end of last year was around 158,000b rials as the most investment has been at Imam Khomeini Port.
