Iran said on Sunday that ships from eight major international transportation companies had started to dock at its southern ports – an indication that officials said showed global trade with the country could soon pick up.
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“Fortunately, many good things have happened over the past few days,” said Abbas Akhundi, Iran’s minister of roads and urban development. “Ships from eight international shipping companies have docked at Iran’s southern ports. This will eventually help reduce transportation costs for goods,” he told reporters.
Akhundi further emphasized that a big change is awaiting Iran’s transportation sector given that a large number of shipping activities had been suspended to and from Iran as the result of sanctions.
Also, Mohammad Saeid-Nejad, the president of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO), told reporters that the presence of major shipping companies in Iran shows Iranian ports will soon see a surge in activities.
“Fortunately, the capabilities of Iranian maritime industries have significantly increased over the past years,” Saeid-Nejad said. “This, together with an increased cooperation with the world’s important [shipping] companies can greatly help satisfy Iran’s domestic needs.”
A series of US-engineered sanctions prohibit international shipping companies from making calls at Iranian ports. The sanctions also bar Iran’s main shipping company – the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) – from sailing in international waters.
Dajmar had said in January that European shipping lines had started talks with his company to restart operations at Iranian ports in light of the progress in Iran nuclear talks.
He had said the Geneva nuclear deal, that was reached between Iran and P5+1 – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany - last November and implemented from January 2015, had also set the stage for Iran to broaden its shipping operations in other countries.
Iran and P5+1 are currently working on a final agreement over the Iranian nuclear energy program. The agreement that has a deadline of June 30 will lead to the removal of certain economic sanctions against Iran and the country will in return take steps to limit certain aspects of its nuclear energy activities.
/SR
