Based on the latest statistics, over 80 percent of cargo transportation in the world is conducted through sea, which highlights the significance of maritime transportation.

The figure is 90 percent in Iran and it is why the development of ports and maritime activities is attached high importance in the country.

Iran's maritime transport is important because of the country’s good access to the open waters in the south and also Caspian Sea in the north that allows international trade between Iran and Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

It should also be noted that Iran's geostrategic position in the north of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, which is of great importance in international energy trade, doubles the possibility of the country benefiting from maritime transport.

Iran has the 22nd largest shipping fleet in the world.

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Iran has 246 registered vessels with a carrying capacity of more than 18 million tons.

International organizations such as UNCTAD estimate that one of Iran's most important tools for combatting the U.S. sanctions is its large shipping fleet.

In this regard, and considering the strategic importance of maritime transport in Iran and the world and its undeniable effect on the country's economic situation, double attention to the modernization of maritime transport fleet, attention to new technologies in the field of shipping, shipbuilding, construction of new docks with up-to-date equipment along with the creation of infrastructure for the carrying of goods from deck to shore can help the country in realizing the slogan of the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21), which is “Production: Support, Elimination of Obstacles”.

To materialize this motto, Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) has announced its full support and prepared necessary plans and programs, including some plans to take all the necessary measures for supporting the companies active in various maritime sectors during the current year.

PMO Head Mohammad Rastad has recently stated that 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.

According to the official, one of the important tasks of the Ports and Maritime Organization is to support production centers and industrial units that are active in the area under the supervision of the organization.

Domestic producers that export their products through the country's commercial ports will also be subject to the mentioned supportive mechanisms and will definitely be supported to be able to export their products at the lowest possible costs, Rastad stressed.

He further noted that significant measures have been taken to supply the equipment required by the Ports and Maritime Organization from domestic manufacturers in order to support domestic production.

PMO will pursue its programs in this regard more seriously during the current year, he added.

Back in March, Rastad had said that despite the sanctions imposed on Iran’s shipping activities, loading and unloading of goods have been noticeably successful at the Iranian ports.

While the enemy is trying to halt Iran’s exports and imports through imposing sanctions, operations at Iranian ports are underway without interruption as the result of the PMO’s all-out efforts.

As the major gates of exports and imports, Iranian ports play a significant role in the country’s battle against the U.S. sanctions, and the ongoing operation at the ports indicates that they are playing their part perfectly.

To realize this year’s motto in line with nullifying the sanctions, a number of projects have been defined in Iran’s ports and maritime sector, including 12 port development and maritime projects to be inaugurated in five provinces across the country by the Iranian calendar month of Tir (begins on June 22).

These projects are going to be inaugurated in Mazandaran, Hormozgan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Khuzestan, and Gilan provinces.

The said projects include installing loading cranes, CCTV, and electronic protection systems, construction of logistics services for export and transit, installing fire detection, alarm and extinguishing systems, and multi-purpose warehouses for storing goods as well as tanks for oil products.

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.