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Rastad noted that 11.4 million tons of basic goods have also been cleared from the country’s ports since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21).

The official said 24 vessels loaded with 1.3 million tons of such commodities are currently waiting at the ports to unload their cargoes.

At present, the storage of basic goods is mainly at the Imam Khomeini Port with more than 3.2 million tons, Rastad said, adding that the total number of ships that are unloading in the country’s ports is 18, of which 10 are at Imam Khomeini Port.

Referring to the importance of Imam Khomeini port, Rastad said in the fifth month of the current Iranian calendar year (July 22-August 22) about 1.5 million tons of goods were unloaded at this port, with a daily average of 46,750 tons.

“Every day, on average, 52,799 tons of goods were also distributed from this port by truck and through the rail network,” he added.

Back in July, Head of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization Darioush Amani said that over 154 million tons of basic goods were transported through Iran’s roads in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21) of which 6.5 million tons were distributed from the country’s ports.

“Some 62 percent of these basic goods were distributed from Imam Khomeini port and the rest from Bandar Abbas and Amirabad ports,” Amani told IRIB.

According to Amani, last year, a total of 502 million tons of goods were transported through the country’s road network, which was unprecedented and grew by 5.6 percent compared to the preceding year.

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According to the PMO’s director for ports affairs Ravanbakhsh Behzadian, the mentioned figure has increased by 9.8 percent compared to the previous year’s same period during which 42.07 million tons of goods had been loaded and unloaded, IRNA reported.

loading and unloading operations in the container sector stood at 6.66 million tons, in dry bulk at 13.69 million tons, while for the liquid bulk the figure was 1.47 million tons, for general cargo 6.89 million tons and for petroleum products amounted to 17.46 million tons, Behzadian explained.

He noted that the volume of loading and unloading of liquid bulk cargoes in the said four months increased by 39.8 percent compared to the same period last year, while the figure increased by 25.3 percent, and 22.7 for the general and petroleum cargoes, respectively.

As reported by IRNA, the outbreak of the coronavirus and the imposition of restrictions on the shipping traffic at borders led to a 55 percent decline in loading and unloading operations at the country’s ports in the first 16 days of the current Iranian calendar year, but the situation has improved gradually.

Despite all limitations and barriers created by the pandemic and the U.S. sanctions on the country, Iran’s port activities, which play some major part in the country’s trade, have been improving in recent months.

The latest reports released in terms of the loading and unloading operation in the ports of the country are an indication of such improvements.

Official data indicate that 660,000 tons of commodities have been loaded and unloaded at the eastern ports of Hormozgan province during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), 27 percent more than the figure for the first quarter of the previous year.

Imam Khomeini Port, in the southwestern Khuzestan province, also had a good performance, as 73 vessels unloaded 3.622 million tons of basic goods at this port during the first quarter, rising three percent from the amount of basic commodities unloaded at this port in the same three-month period of the previous year.

The rising trend of loading and unloading operation has been also reported about the northern ports of the country.

The mentioned operation rose 28 percent at the ports of Mazandaran province, in the north of Iran, during the first quarter of the present year, as compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

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According to Mohammad Rastad, some 6.876 trillion rials (about $163 million) plus 87.9 million euros has been invested in the said projects, of which about 382 billion rials (about $9.05 million) has been provided by the private sector.

Of these 16 projects, two projects have been carried out by the private sector investors in Imam Khomeini port and other projects have been implemented by the Ports and Maritime Organization, the official explained.

“These projects are in various fields including infrastructure, buildings, vessels, port equipment, maritime safety, port security, maritime transport facilitation, and maritime reference buildings,” he added.

According to Rastad, the mentioned projects are located in Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Mazandaran provinces.

Six of the projects will be inaugurated in Hormozgan Province, including a wharf post, three oil wharf posts, a vessel, a hyper-suction dredger vessel, a marine reference building, and a fire alarm system.

Projects in Khuzestan province also include multi-purpose warehouses for storage of goods, a hyper-suction dredger vessel.

A 60-ton mobile crane, a sailors club building (in Amirabad), a fire station, a corn flour and concentrate factory, and a CCTV and electronic protection system are among the projects that will be inaugurated in Mazandaran Province, according to Rastad.

Iranian Transport Ministry has been taking serious measures for supporting development projects in the country’s ports and in this regard the ministry has been cooperating with domestic companies for supplying the equipment and machinery needed in such projects.

Earlier this year, Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami had announced that the capacity of the country’s commercial ports is going to be increased to 500 million tons over the next five years, to make Iran one of the biggest trade hubs in the region.

Also in April, Rastad said that his organization plans to take all the necessary measures for supporting the companies active in various maritime sectors during the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21).

“In line with the current year’s motto which is “Production: support and the elimination of obstacles”, PMO has put it on the agenda to provide necessary supports for producers in order to facilitate the process of import and export of goods in the country’s ports,” Rastad said.

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Farhad Montaser Kouhsari said despite the limitation due to the sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, the loading and unloading capacity of the country’s commercial ports has increased to 44.9 million tons in the current year, from 42 million tons in the past year.

The official further announced that 21 million tons of oil products was loaded and unloaded in the ports of Iran during the three-month period of this year, rising 17 percent as compared to the same period of the previous year.

He said 536,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of container products were loaded and unloaded in the said time span of the present year, one percent more than 536,000 TEUs in the first quarter of the past year.

The condition created by the coronavirus outbreak has had some devastating effect on different aspects of global trade.

In Iran, the condition has been even worse, as the country has been tackling the U.S. unilateral sanctions on its economy.

But despite all limitations and barriers, the country has managed to act successfully in running its economy and trade.

Iran’s port activities, which play some major part in the country’s trade, have been noticeable in this due.

The reports released in terms of the loading and unloading operation in the ports of the country are an indication of such successful trend.

As previously announced by the head of PMO, loading and unloading of commodities at the ports of Iran have risen six percent during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

Mohammad Rastad also announced that the entrance of ocean vessels to the ports of country has increased eight percent in the previous year, PMO published on its website.

While Iran is combating the U.S. unilateral sanctions on its economy, the country’s ports as the major gates of exports and imports play some significant role in this battle. This role makes all-out support to ports and more development of them serious and vital.

Such necessity has led the government to define projects for more development of the ports and also take some measures to encourage investment making in ports, in addition to facilitate loading and unloading of goods, especially basic commodities, there.

It is worth mentioning that PMO has defined a high number of projects to develop and improve the country’s ports, as the country aims to double the capacity of its ports in a course of five years.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Iranian port activities noticeably ongoing despite limitations. The condition created by the coronavirus outbreak has had some devastating effect on different aspects of global trade.

In Iran, the condition has been even worse, as the country has been tackling the U.S. unilateral sanctions on its economy.

But despite all limitations and barriers, the country has managed to act successfully in running its economy and trade.

Iran’s port activities, which play some major part in the country’s trade, have been noticeable in this due.

The latest reports released in terms of the loading and unloading operation in the ports of the country are an indication of such successful trend.

As reported, 775,611 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) have been loaded and unloaded at Shahid Rajaee port, Iran’s largest and best-equipped container port, in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21).

Enjoying the most modern container terminals and port equipment, Shahid Rajaee in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province accounts for 85 percent of the total loading and unloading at the Iranian ports.

Another report indicates that 660,000 tons of commodities have been loaded and unloaded at the eastern ports of Hormozgan province during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), which was 27 percent higher than the figure for the first quarter of the previous year.

Imam Khomeini Port, in the southwestern Khuzestan province, has had also a good performance, as 73 vessels unloaded 3.622 million tons of basic goods at this port during the first quarter, rising three percent from the amount of basic commodities unloaded at this port in the same three-month period of the previous year.

The rising trend of loading and unloading operation has been also reported about the northern ports of the country.

The mentioned operation rose 28 percent at the ports of Mazandaran province, in the north of Iran, during the first quarter of the present year, as compared to the same period of time in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the quarterly export of goods from these ports has experienced a 57-percent growth year on year.

It is worth mentioning that Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) has defined a high number of projects to develop and improve the country’s ports, as the country aims to double the capacity of its ports in a course of five years.

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Touching upon the condition and capacity of northern ports and elaborating the woes and hurdles in the northern ports for load and unload, Kouhsari said that the capacity of northern ports for imports and exports of various goods is around 30m tons, and currently only 6m tons of its total capacity is used but it can be enhanced with developing the transit.

He also pointed to the ply of ro-ro ships in the northern ports of the country for increasing the shipment of goods, and said ro-ro train and ro-ro of trucks are active in the Caspian Sea and almost 70 percent of the ro-ro ships active there is of the truck type. He added that ro-ro ships can dock in all northern ports.

He went on to say that in the past, transiting trucks used to pass through Turkmenistan to get Kazakhstan and from there, they could reach Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bishkek Port but currently, the trucks can get Kuryk Port of Kazakhstan via Anzali Port.

He reiterated that in case it is welcomed by the transportation companies, this line would be reinforced and the organization can use more ro-ro ships in this line.

He also announced negotiations with a Russian company to increase the number of ro-ro ships in this line, adding that the talks with Russians are underway and the second ship in the Anzali Port-Noshahr Port-Amirabad Port route to Astara Khan Port will be launched and this ship can also be active in the Olya-Anzali Ports or Olya-Amirabad Ports in order to transfer transiting trucks from Iran or Turkey to Russia or vice versa by the sea.

Kouhsar noted that the organization provides required infrastructures in order to prevent any problem on course to developing exports in the ports, adding that he had talks on transit with the head of free zone of Russia in Moscow. He added that the talks should continue with Russia and India to pick up transit en route of India and Chabahar Port and Shahid Rajaee Port as well as the northern ports and the ties with Russia should be stronger which can help the capacity of the national ports to increase.

He admitted that in the past eight years the northern ports have not experienced any growth and there has been no change in its 6-million-ton capacity.

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Mentioning the virtual presence of PMO as Iran’s representative at the 10th International Maritime Transport and Logistics Conference in Egypt, Allahyar said the PMO’s Engineering and Infrastructure Development Department was in charge of the panel on the role of digital transformation in the development of container terminals, in the mentioned conference.

He underlined the positive impact of such international events on the global status of the Iranian maritime industry, saying: “Attending international forums and conferences can lead to the exchange of knowledge and experiences, while promoting the scientific and professional level of the participants, and fortunately, the Ports and Maritime Organization has had a good presence in the international arena and plays a significant role in this area.”

Regarding the PMO’s measures for the digital transformation or smartening of the country’s ports, the official noted: “In recent years, serious measures have been taken to achieve this goal and in the field of engineering and infrastructure development, efforts have been made to use up-to-date equipment and technologies.”

“Among the software that has been considered by the Ports and Maritime Organization for smartening of the ports, we can mention the decision-making-aid software for vessels, which was developed by domestic knowledge-based centers with the support of the PMO,” Allahyar explained.

“Currently, only two countries are able to provide this software, and fortunately, Iranian experts succeeded in developing it using a sea dynamics simulator model and the software is now being used in a trial basis,” he added.

Underlining the significance of marine engineering for the country, the official said: “We should know that the field of marine equipment engineering is also very important and fortunately in this field, Iran is one of the leading countries and we are ahead of many countries in the region in this field.”

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According to PMO’s Deputy Head for Ports and Economic Affairs Farhad Montaser Kouhsari, the organization has increased the target for attracting investment in the current year from 160 trillion rials (about $3.8 billion) to 165 trillion rials (about $3.9 billion).

“This goal will be achieved by creating a proper space for investment in the ports and by providing the necessary incentives for investors, as well as awarding production and conversion projects,” Montaser Kouhsari said.

The official noted that his organization has revised its contracts to minimize the risk of investment and provide significant incentives to the investors.

Underlining the significance of attracting investment in port infrastructure projects, Kouhsari said: “Ports’ access to transport networks and the improvement of infrastructure in the ports’ hinterland play an important role in facilitating and accelerating operations in ports.”

“In fact, the existence of appropriate logistics is the prerequisite for increasing the efficiency of ports in the country,” he added.

He further mentioned establishing logistic parks and special economic zones in the hinterland of the country’s ports as a good way for developing the country’s productivity and supporting domestic production.

Considering the significant role of ports in the promotion of foreign trade especially export, Iran, which has adopted the strategy of boosting its non-oil export to counter the U.S. sanctions on its economy, has many programs underway for the development of its ports.

In this regard, the PMO has put the attraction of investment to the ports on agenda, and despite the restrictions and limitations created by the outbreak of the coronavirus, investment-making in the Iranian ports increased significantly over the previous Iranian calendar year.

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The signing ceremony was attended by the PMO Head Mohammad Rastad as well as the head of the mentioned companies and officials from the country’s maritime industry, IRIB reported on Monday.

According to Rastad, the mentioned projects will be completed and the equipment will be unveiled by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2022).

Speaking in the signing ceremony, Rastad underlined the technological needs of the country’s maritime and port sectors and said: “Currently, fields like ports and commercial maritime shipping have some equipment requirements that we must meet.”

The mentioned equipment is required in areas like port operations, loading and unloading of goods from ships, as well as storage of goods in warehouses, and finally ensuring safety and protection of the marine environment, he explained.

The official noted that PMO has held numerous meetings with the country’s knowledge-based companies for brainstorming on the issues and the technological needs of the ports and maritime sectors and to be able to benefit from their capabilities and capacities in this regard.

According to Rastad, the U.S. sanctions on the industry have acted as a driving force for PMO to push for domestic production of the products needed in the industry and to move toward self-sufficiency.

“We had a lot of problems during the sanctions, many of the foreign manufacturers that had sold equipment to us did not meet their obligations and refused to provide after-sales services, and this caused us a lot of problems in this area,” he said, adding: “We are now moving in a direction where our dependence on foreign products has decreased.”

“In the meetings we had with industrial and knowledge-based companies, they announced their readiness to produce the needed equipment and therefore we are moving towards complete self-sufficiency in port and maritime industries.”

Back in April, Rastad had announced that his organization plans to take all the necessary measures for supporting the companies active in various maritime sectors during the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21).

“In line with the current year’s motto which is “Production: support and the elimination of obstacles”, PMO has put it on the agenda to provide necessary supports for domestic producers,” he said.

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