Ship maintenance in Banias/Syria defies Western sanctions

According to the report of the International Economic Group of Fars News Agency, citing Sputnik, despite the unjust blockade of the West against Syria, the “Nova1” ship with the flag of Comoros has entered the port of Banias, Syria, for maintenance, to be the first ship in nearly two years. In recent years, due to the conditions of the siege and sanctions against Syria, it has been anchored on the coast of this country.

Jalal Taha, or in his own words (Sheikh al-Kar), as the first person who received a license to repair and build a ship in Syria, says about the repair of this ship that the work involves the participation of dozens of workers, experts and technicians who carry out the necessary maintenance operations. Nawal 1 has been started and is progressing rapidly.

Repair all ships in Banias

Taha has spent many years in the shipbuilding and maintenance business in Syria and has gained a reputation in the country for its excellent performance and speed of completion.

He says that he started his work in 1995 and got two licenses in 2002; One is for building ships of different sizes and the second is for repairing and maintaining ships of different types and tonnages, and it is also the first to receive this license in Syria.

Pointing out that the Nawal 1 ship entered the port of Banias on October 17 (25 Mehr) and its maintenance operation is expected to last 15 days, Taha emphasized: Before the start of the terrorist war against Syria, the maintenance work of many ships We did it with the flags of Arab and non-Arab countries; But after the start of the war, many ship owners stopped coming to Syria due to the blockade and sanctions.

Taha says about the condition of Latakia, Tartous and Banias ports before the start of the war: At that time, the ships were waiting in line at the wharf for their turn for maintenance and days passed as the ships waited for their turn to enter the port basin one after the other.

Referring to the willingness of ship owners to carry out repairs and maintenance in Syria, he said: Our workshops have a good reputation in terms of expertise, accurate performance and speed of completion, and it goes without saying that our labor force in this field is cheaper than other countries.

Taha’s work in the field of ship maintenance and repair is not limited to Banias port, but also includes the ports of Latakia and Tartus, where it is possible to repair and maintain larger ships with a tonnage of up to 10,000 tons; While the limited space of Banias port does not allow the maintenance of high tonnage ships and the capacity of Naval 1 ship is five thousand tons.

Omar Haddad, the captain of Nawal 1 ship, in his turn, referring to the facilities that the General Directorate of Ports has considered regarding the arrival and maintenance of the ship, said that the repair work of this ship is being done seriously and the advantage of the Banias workshop in Syria is low. The availability of maintenance wages and skilled manpower is a strong incentive for ship owners to come to Syria.

Stating that it was possible to repair the Nawal 1 ship in Greece and Egypt because these countries were also on the route of this ship, Haddad said: When the port of Banias announced that it has resumed ship repair work, we decided to come here.

We continue despite the siege

Bashar Taha, the person in charge of the ship repair and maintenance workshop in Banias, told Sputnik: “Despite the difficulties of working in the siege conditions, we continue both shipbuilding and maintenance and stressed that all the work requirements have been met.”

Supporting the national economy

In an interview with Sputnik, Mufaq Ibrahim, the director of the Syrian port of Banias, also emphasized: the arrival of foreign ships in the Syrian ports brings income for them, a part of which goes back to the government treasury in the form of foreign currency in a way that supports the national economy. Needless to say, shipbuilding or ship maintenance workshops provide hundreds of job opportunities for unemployed youth who have experience and skills in this field.

The Director of Banias Port emphasized: The facility provided to ship owners in terms of entering the ports, in addition to quick repairs and maintenance with excellent performance, is a strong incentive for other ship owners to visit the port.

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