TEHRAN: Iran’s media reported on Saturday that the Swiss shipping line MSC has started calling at the country’s southern ports after a hiatus of six years. Iran reported that an MSC container ship has docked at Shahid Rajaie port in the Persian Gulf coastal city of Bandar Abbas.
Ehrahim Idani, the director general of Ports and Maritime Organization of Hormozgan Province, has told the news agency that the ship has a capacity of 1,162 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and has arrived from Shanghai, China.
Idani added that MSC – which is currently the world’s second largest shipping company – is planning to have its container ships visit Shahid Rajaie port every week in the near future.
The official further emphasized that a total of 17 international shipping lines are today operating in Bandar Abbas. He said the warm welcome by the companies to call at Shahid Rajaei is a result of certain privileges that they can benefit from at the port.
Some of those privileges, he said, include volume-based discounts, speedy loading and un-loading operations, as well as efficient bunkering services. According to the official, about 0.7 million tons of goods have been transshipped from Shahid Rajaei port during a period of eight months starting March 2015.
Shahid Rajaie Port is connected to more than 80 ports worldwide, IRNA said. The highest rate of cargo transit through Iran and towards the Central Asia passes through this port, it added. Shahid Rajaei port is located 23 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas. It is equipped with 18 gantry cranes and 41 docks, which make it the biggest and most modern container port in Iran.
