Iran plans to launch a regular shipping line to Japan in the next few weeks, Managing Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Mohammad Saeidi said at a ceremony in Tehran on Monday, Tasnim News Agency reports.
According to Saeidi, during the sanction era, there was only one active shipping line from the southern port city Bandar Abbas to East Asia.
However, now shipping lines to South Korea, Singapore and China are active.
Following the sanctions’ lifting in January 2016, the country’s shipping giants NITC and IRISL got an opportunity to increase their fleets’ presence in international waters.
Consequently, IRISL was also removed from the Office of the Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) sanctions list, what allowed its vessels to sail for Europe.
On March 17, IRISL’s containership Azargoun called in Hamburg, what marked the reopening of the company’s regular liner service European Container Line (ECL).
Since the removal of the sanctions, Iran has been busy trying to boost cooperation with European partners, which is confirmed by ever more frequent meetings with delegations from various European countries.
The most recent ones from this month saw Cyprus express interest in extending collaboration with IRISL at a meeting held between the IRISL’s director and Cyprus Transportation and Communication Secretary.
In addition, Italy is also interested in bolstering ties with Iran. During the IRANITALY Summit whose first edition took place in Tehran on May 16 and 17, Iran also discussed the ways to strengthen economic, cultural and business interchange with Italian counterparts.
World Maritime News Staff