China launches direct shipping line to Chabahar Port

The first container ship departing from China docked at Iran’s key port of Chabahar on Saturday, marking the establishment of the first direct shipping line between China and Iran's southeastern seaport.

The announcement was made by Amir Moghadam, Managing Director of the Chabahar Free Zone Organization, Tasnim news agency reported.

According to Moghadam, Chinese ships previously unloaded in Bandar Abbas, the capital city of the southern province of Hormozgan, with their cargos then being transferred to Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan Province via smaller ships.

With the establishment of the direct shipping line between China and Chabahar, cargos are delivered ten days earlier, while the cost of loading and unloading is reduced by US$400 per container, the official explained.

In addition, the establishment of the mentioned shipping line plays a great role in the development of transit via Chabahar Port, he added.

As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically. The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.

In this regard, Iran has been welcoming investors from all over the world to take part in the development of this port and benefit from its distinguished position as a trade hub in the region.

Chabahar port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities.

The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.

Based on an agreement with Iran, India is going to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.

While Iran is combating the US unilateral sanctions on its economy, the country’s ports as the major gates of exports and imports play a significant role in this battle. This role makes all-out support to ports and more development of them serious and vital.

Such necessity has led the government to define projects for more development of the ports and also take some measures to encourage investment making in ports, in addition to facilitating the loading and unloading of goods, especially basic commodities, there.

 

Iranian port Chabahar handles nearly 2 million tons goods in a year

As announced by a provincial official, nearly 2 million tons of basic commodities were transported from Chabahar port, in the southeast of Iran, to the designated destinations throughout the country in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 ended in March 2022.

Mehrollah Damough, the head of goods transportation office of Road Maintenance and Transportation Department of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where the strategic port lies, said that the mentioned commodities were transported by almost 80,000 trucks.

Chabahar is an important port and a low-cost route for Central Asian countries, which with its strategic unloading and loading equipment has the potential to become a key transit corridor for international transit and transportation, the official further underlined.

As announced by the Deputy Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), 30.9 million tons of basic goods worth US$19.6 billion were cleared from the customs in the past Iranian calendar year.

Foroud Asgari, Deputy Head of IRICA for customs affairs, said that the imported goods comprises of 25 commodity groups.

Putting the value of the imported basic commodities at US$19.6 billion in the past year, the official said that the imports showed a 60% increase in terms of value and 32% growth in terms of weight, as compared to the Iranian calendar year 1399.

As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically. The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.

In this regard, the Islamic Republic has been welcoming investors from all over the world to take part in the development of this port and benefit from its distinguished position as a trade hub in the region.

Chabahar port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities. The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Balouchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.

In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan had signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.

Based on an agreement with Iran, India is going to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.