Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 31/ Trend M. Moezzi
Over the last month, 18 unsafe vessels have been removed from Iran's marine transportation fleet, Mehr News Agency reported an official as saying.
Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) took the passenger boats out of service because they were unsafe, said Saeed Izadian a deputy director.
Passenger boats and ferries are estimated to transport between seven to eight million passengers during the holidays celebrating the Iranian revolution and Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Although the coming days will be very busy, the PMO will stop unsafe boats and ferries from operating.
On January 21, at least 16 Iranians died after a passenger boat sank in stormy seas in the Persian Gulf. The boat was transporting 22 people from the island of Hormuz to the port of Bandar Abbas despite a ban on light boat travel in the heavy seas.