TEHRAN – Transit of goods via Iran’s commercial ports has increased by 44 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), according to the head of the country’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO).

“Port transit has grown by 44 percent this year, and despite the restrictions caused by the sanctions, the development plans of this organization in various sectors and areas are being pursued seriously,” Ali-Akbar Safaei said at a meeting of the organization’s supreme council on Monday.

As reported by the TPO portal, the meeting was attended by senior officials including the representatives of Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Transport and Urban Development, Planning and Budget Organization (PBO), and the members of the PMO executive committee, as well as a group of managers with this organization.

Speaking at the meeting, Safaei stated that currently, more than 200 large and small commercial ports are providing services to regulate sea traffic and ship goods in the north and south of the country.

He pointed to the development of the marine fleet as one of the most serious demands of this organization from commercial shipping companies and announced the purchase of eight large commercial vessels to operate in the Caspian Sea and the order to build four ocean-going vessels in the south of the country.

Elsewhere in the gathering, Mehdi Nourani, head of the Center for Assembly Affairs and Contract Supervision at the Transport Ministry, pointed to the positive performance of the PMO in the current year, saying that there have been improvements in various sectors including port transit, loading and unloading of goods, growth of non-governmental investments and development of port infrastructure, especially in small ports.

Referring to the government’s new approach for the development of port and maritime cooperation with neighboring countries and the region, he emphasized: “By using the capacities of all entities and institutions active in the field of trade, it is possible to increase the contribution of the Ports and Maritime Organization in international trade.”

EF/MA