TEHRAN- National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) has leased out 30 oil tankers to foreign companies since implementation of Iran’s nuclear deal officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in January 2016, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday quoting Sirous Kianersi, the managing director of company.

The official also announced that given the company’s negotiations with the foreign sides the number of leased tankers will increase by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2017).

“Our priority is the shipment of Iranian oil to the export markets and additional tankers will be leased out”, he noted.

While announcing that NITC has no plan at the moment for increasing the number of its tankers, the official said, “We have a five-year strategic plan for renovating the fleet through replacing old tankers with some new ones in line with reducing the average fleet age.”

Kianersi went on to say that during the sanctions, NITC served the country’s oil industry through applying over 90 percent of its operating capacity.

As the official had previously said his company is determined for a strong return to the European markets and also adding new countries to the list of its customers while it is preparing its fleet to achieve this goal.

NITC, which operates the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East and has the world’s largest fleet of super tankers, transports Iranian crude and also acts as an independent entity in contracts with foreign concerns for crude oil transportation based on prevailing international freight rates.

MA/MG