Maritime transportation is an opportunity for the development of Iran’s economy

According to IRNA, moving 90% of the country’s goods through sea transportation, the ability of Iran’s shipping fleet to move more than 6.5 million tons of goods internationally, and Iran’s 22nd rank in terms of the largest shipping fleet in the world, indicate a high capacity. The sea transit of the country.

A capability that the sanctions could not affect much, so that every day a large amount of all kinds of goods are loaded in Iranian ports and sent to other parts of the world.

Having said that, Iran has special advantages and features in the field of sea transit due to its favorable geographical conditions, and this capability itself is considered a great source of foreign exchange earnings. Now such income generation can be seen in Chabahar port and goods sent from India to Chabahar port and from this port to Afghanistan; This high-income transit can be operated in all ports of the country.

In fact, maritime transit has created a situation that has connected Iran with about 15 countries in the world in the four directions of North, South, East and West.

Iran is at the crossroads of global transit

Iran has neighbors and trade relations with the major oil producing countries in the south through the Persian Gulf, in the north through the Caspian Sea with the countries bordering this sea, and in the west and east with the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, countries with large populations. They have created several hundreds of millions for Iran. In addition, establishing the relationship between European countries and East Asia or Central Asian countries and the Persian Gulf is done through Iran.

Iran’s location on the route of the North-South transit corridors and the possibility of transit communication with the countries of the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Europe to South Asia and the Far East through Iranian waters, which shows the great importance of Iran’s maritime transit.

Iran has a distinct position at the crossroads of global transit and can become a global power by improving its position, especially in the field of maritime transit. In addition, Iran’s geostrategic position in the north of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf makes Iran’s maritime transit more attractive due to its great importance in international energy exchange.

For this reason, due to the many opportunities for the prosperity of the country’s marine transportation industry, a significant economy is created through earning transit income, which should not be neglected.

Iran’s north-south corridor is a key maritime route

According to the available statistics, 90% of international trade is carried out by sea, and the country’s foreign economy is not separated from this category, so that the country’s economy is 100% dependent on the sea for some goods, including oil, oil derivatives, and petrochemicals. Similarly, a significant part of the import of basic and intermediate goods is through the sea, from which we can understand the positive effects of sea transportation on the economy and production of countries.

Considering the important and key role of maritime transport in the world economy and the special position of Iran in the Middle East, one of the policies of the government in the direction of developing trade relations with other countries has been the maritime transport system, because Iran, due to its geopolitical position and having special conditions for Sea transit has a better advantage than other countries in the region for the transit of goods.

Due to this issue, the North-South Corridor of Iran, which was signed by the Ministers of Transport of Iran, India and Russia in 2000, and the promise of its implementation was always heard, finally, after many discussions and years of interruption in the implementation of this project, was, finally the key to the implementation of this transit axis was struck recently and for the first time the cargo of Russian goods was transferred from Iran to the Indian Ocean.

Iran’s North and South Corridor was taken into consideration for the movement of transit goods between India and Russia, and the first phase of cargo transportation along this corridor was carried out by Iran Shipping Group with the transfer of 300 containers of export goods to Russia, and for the first time the shipment of Russian goods. It was transferred to the Indian Ocean from Iran.

According to Dariush Jamali, the president of Iranian-Russian Salianka, these shipments used to be made on a case-by-case basis in the past, but with the efforts of the shipping team, a nationwide and experimental mechanism has been created so that containers can be transported from Russia to India or East Asia with only one nationwide bill of lading. .

He added: This corridor turns Iran into China’s Silk Road project and is considered the biggest intermediary for trade between Asia and Europe, in other words, it is a bridge connecting European countries with the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf and connects the countries on both sides. Also, the cost of transporting goods from this route is cheaper than other routes and the time of moving goods is shorter than the previous channels.

Based on this, Iran can use the north and south corridor to transfer European goods to other routes in the shortest time and at the most economical cost.

In short, the North-South Corridor is the best alternative to Suez Canal transit with the advantages of the mentioned features. A less risky route than Suez, which can help Iran’s economic growth. Of course, the continuation of this process depends on the support of the government.

Do not neglect the importance of Iran’s maritime transit

The great importance of sea transportation has made investment in this sector a necessity. The importance of this issue is to the extent that Iran’s shipping fleet faced a lot of pressure during the embargo period, because the embargoers were aware of the high potential of Iran’s maritime transit.

According to the estimations made by some international organizations, in the face of these obstacles and sanctions restrictions imposed on Iran, Iran’s large maritime transport fleet has been the main lever of pressure against the American sanctions, and the daily passage of about 17 million barrels of crude oil from the Strait of Hormuz to Western Europe, the Far East and the United States confirm the position of Iran’s maritime transit during this period of sanctions.

Also, 88% of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports, 90% of Iran’s light and heavy oil, 98% of Iraq’s oil, 99% of the United Arab Emirates’ oil, and 100% of Kuwait and Qatar’s oil go to their destinations by sea from the Persian Gulf, which is equivalent to 90%. Oil exports are the largest oil producing countries in the Middle East region.

Accordingly, with any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of Iran’s transit routes, not only the global market will face a shortage of 20 million barrels of oil, but it will also lead to the collapse of the global economy and the complete stoppage of international trade in this area.

Therefore, at the height of the sanctions, due to the need of a number of beneficiary countries for Iran’s sea transportation, the country’s ports did not stop their operations, and a large number of foreign transit ships enter the country’s ports on a daily basis. The promising issue is that the trustees and officials, aware of the importance of this issue, are trying to improve this position.