TEHRAN: Close to 53.32 million tons of oil and non-oil products were loaded and unloaded in the ports of the southern Hormozgan Province during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22), registering a 6.5% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, director general of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Hormozgan said. “Non-oil products accounted for about 34 million tons of the total amount and the rest were oil products. Over the period, 19.2 million tons of non-oil products were exported, 5.4 million tons were imported, close to 1.8 million tons were transshipped, 3 million tons were transited and almost 4.2 million tons were cabotaged,” Allah-Morad Afifipour was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official added that 7.4 million tons of oil products were exported, 1.5 million tons were imported, 39,400 tons were transited and 9.7 million tons were cabotaged. Container loading and unloading stood at close to 1.34 million TEUs, indicating a 33% increase compared with the similar period of last year. Afifipour noted that 19,368 vessels entered the province’s ports over the period, more than 2,600 of which weighed over 1,000 tons. Hormozgan Province has 32 active ports, including Iran’s biggest container port, Shahid Rajaee, which accounts for more than half of Iran’s total port throughput. Maritime transportation accounts for 85% of Iran’s foreign trade.
