TEHRAN (Iran News) –Secretary of the Shipping Association of Iran Mr. Masoud Polmeh says Iranian ships face problems in Russian ports and they have major problems in load and unload of vessels.
Speaking to ILNA, Polmeh pointed to the pile of goods in northern ports and problems of Iranian vessels for ply between Astrakhan and Salianka Ports of Russia, noting that issue and problem of Iranian ships are totally different in Astrakhan and Salianka Ports. He added that Iranian vessels in Astrakhan face problems during docking and unloading and these problems lead to prolongation of stop in Astrakhan Port and this makes the number of services of ships reduce from two in a month to one in a month.
He added that this has caused problem for dispatch of cargo from Russian port to Iran or vice-versa and resolving this problem needs a serious economic diplomacy because this is not a technical problem and it is only managerial one and it needs the economic diplomacy.He added that as cold looms, the problem will worsen and this should be resolved very fast.
Polmeh reiterated that this problem is mostly for Iranian vessels, admitting that Iran-bound vessels face less problem because some of them transit Iran and the problems are mostly for Russia-bound vessels.
He added that but in Salianka Port, Iranian ships face both technical and managerial problems as it goes cold, the condition will worsen and vessels will face with shallow depth in the port. He added that Salianka Port is under management of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) and since the Iranian shipping line has invested in this port, it is natural Khazar Sea Shipping Line does its load and unload operations in Salianka Port.
He said that if Iran uses Russian ships for its transportation it will not face any problem in Astrakhan Port but Iranian sides will suffer losses and the cost of marine transportation will increase. He admitted that the management in Astrakhan looks patriotically and prioritizes Russian vessels.
He noted that at Makhachkala Port there is the problem of political geography of Dagestan and this position has created restrictions for the logistical activities in this port.
He then pointed to the pile of goods in northern ports and said that it is because of the mentioned reasons and the number of shipping services in the northern routes have decreased and goods have been piled.
Polmeh said that they need at least 100 ships with Iranian flags or under Iranian ownership for trade in the Caspian Sea and currently there are 43 vessels in these routes and it is almost 43% of the required capacity and 23 ships belong to IRISL and 20 belong to the private sector company and age of some of ships are very old and their maintenance costs is very high.
