TEHRAN – A deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) predicted that the country’s shipping business would need some 450-500 ships in the next 15 years in order not to lose its position among the major regional shipping lines.

Speaking at a gathering of national marine organizations in Mahmudabad, Mazandaran Province, Golparvar stated that the number includes both commercial ships and tankers. “The IRISL now owns 180 ships,” he said. As the gas fields within the Persian Gulf territory develop in the next few years, he implied, Iran would need 20-80 LNG ships in order to transport its liquefied natural gas to all parts of the world. “So, we will need 100-120 oil tankers by 2015.”

Stressing the need for renovating the domestic shipping industry, he said that foreign shipping lines had earned $1.5 billion in 2002 for carrying cargos to the Iranian ports. Like many other state officials, Golparvar repeated the fact that the private sector should be encouraged to invest in the country’s shipping industry.