BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The main part – about 90 percent of Iran's trade turnover is done by sea, an expert on maritime trade and shipping Ali Ghiasian told Trend.
According to him, for example, more than 123 million tons of Iran's total trade turnover was carried out by sea over the last Iranian year (from March 20, 2020 through March 20, 2021).
Ghiasian added that more than 80 percent of the world's cargo is transportation is carried out by sea.
The expert stressed that Iran's easy access to international waters in the south could lead to the development of international trade, including trade between Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through Iran.
“Iran has a great potential for energy trade in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, which makes maritime transport profitable and necessary to make the most of it,” he said.
Ghiasian noted that Iran is the 22nd largest shipping country in the world, with active 246 ships.
"These ships can carry a total of more than 18 million tons of cargo. Most of these ships are owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC)," he said.
“Daily about 17 million barrels of crude oil are transported through the Strait of Hormuz to Western Europe, the Far East and the US. So, minimum 88 percent of Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports, 90 percent of Iran's crude oil, 98 percent of Iraq's crude oil, 99 percent of UAE's crude oil, and 100 percent of Kuwait's and Qatar's crude oil are transported through the Strait of Hormuz. This shows that 90 percent of the world's largest oil exporters are located in the Middle East,” he added.
The expert emphasized that the importance of the region is reflected in the fact that more than 50,000 oil and gas tankers and other merchant ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz every year, and that there are more than 800 oil and gas production platforms in the Persian Gulf.
"If there is any shortage of maritime transport in the Strait of Hormuz, there may be a shortage of 20 million barrels of crude oil per day on the world market, and the price of crude oil may exceed $250," he said.
“Taking into account all this potential, Iran is focusing on creating opportunities in shipping, shipbuilding, the creation of new platforms and other related areas,” he said.
Reportedly, a total of 123 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in Iranian ports over the last Iranian year (from March 20, 2020 through March 20, 2021). This is a decrease of 18.1 percent compared to the preceding year (from March 21, 2019 through March 19, 2020). So, 150 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in Iranian ports in the preceding year.
Iran's total foreign trade turnover amounted to about 146 million tons worth $73 billion in the last Iranian year. During this period, Iran exported 112 million tons of goods worth about $35 billion and imported 33.4 million tons worth $38.4 billion.