TEHRAN (Iran News) –The CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) says the group has bought 100% of stakes of Arvandan Shipbuilding Company, adding that building special vessels for drilling and serving the drilling rigs in south of the country is one of the main missions of Arvandan Company in its new era.
According to the public relations of IRISL, during the ceremony for signing contract for manufacture of two multifunctional 800-ton tanker vessels tanker which was signed between Qeshm Marine Service and Engineering Company and Arvandan Building Company, the CEO of IRISL Mohammad Modarres Khiabani expressed hope that signing of this contract is a good beginning for Arvandan Shipbuilding Company in order that it can join the fleet of manufacturers of certain vessels.
He said that activities of Arvandan Company had come to a halt due to different reasons for years, adding that the main mission of IRISL is activity in the marine services and transport of goods but above them is the look of this national fleet to the necessity for supporting domestic production and attention to the domestic manufacturers according to the recommendations of the Supreme Leader especially during the sanctions.
Modarres Khiabani then pointed to the good trust of IRISL to Arvandan Shipbuilding Company and signing contract and ordering manufacture of two multifunctional 800-ton vessels and said that the investment for manufacture of these two vessels is 7m euros and they should be completed and delivered in 18 months.
He reiterated that Arvandan Company should plan in a way that it can produce at least four vessels per year and deliver them to IRISL and manufacture of special vessels for drilling and serving the drilling rigs in south of the country can be one of the important activities of Arvandan Company.
In the ceremony, IRISL awarded a major contact for building two bunkering tankers to a domestic company, a first of its kind in the country amid efforts to offset U.S. sanctions by supporting local manufacturing and jobs.
IRISL’s deputy head for fleet expansion Abdorreza Mohebi said that Iran’s Arvandan Shipbuilding Company will deliver two 800-ton multi-purpose tankers to IRISL’s bunkering agent GMSENG within the next 20 months based on a contract signed between the two companies earlier on Saturday.
Mohebi said the IRISL will pay 2.140 trillion rials ($7 million) for the two ships which will boost bunkering services to company’s container ships once they are added to its fleet.
He said the contract will create 100 permanent jobs at Arvandan, a shipbuilder based in Iran’s southwestern Province of Khuzestan near the Karun River.
Iran has increasingly relied on domestic companies to satisfy its manufacturing demands in recent years. That has come as the country still remains under a series of US sanctions that ban foreign companies from engaging in deals with Iran.
Increased support for local manufacturers has also helped Iran create hundreds of thousands of jobs for its youth in recent years while also allowing for more exports to other countries.
