Tehran, Iran, December 12
By Mehdi Sepahvand –- Trend:
After the National Iranian Tanker Company signed a deal with Korea’s Hyundai for petrochemical and oil tankers, right-wing entities have raised voice against the move for neglecting domestic ship builders, Mehr news agency reported December 12.
On December 9, it was announced that Iran and Hyundai Heavy Industries had signed a contract on 10 tankers. The tankers include mega-size 14000 ships, TEU 500, and 49-ton tankers for carrying oil derivatives and petrochemicals.
The far-right Keyhan newspaper in its editorial the following day rebuked the contract as “treason” and “treachery”, suggesting that Iranian ship builders should have been hired instead of a foreign company.
Also, Commander of Khatam ul-Anbyia Construction Base, a subsidiary of the IRGC, addressed President Hassan Rouhani in an imperative tone during a speech and said the president should cancel the contract.
In response, Mohammad Roshdi, head of design and construction projects and the National Iranian Tanker Company delved into history to say that domestic companies do not qualify for cooperation.
He said while Hyundai Mipo Dockyard completed its obligations to build Iran three tankers in less than one year in 2003, a subsidiary of Khatam ul-Anbiya, SADRA Marine Industrial Company, has failed to act to its side of a deal on three tankers, and after 13 years it has not refunded the money it received. According to Roshdi, while the Korean company received $30 million for each tanker, SADRA charged $55 million for each.
He went on to add that Iranian ship builders lack management capabilities, do not perform powerfully when it comes to technology, and hold too many failed projects on record, therefore are yet to qualify for cooperation.
Elsewhere, First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri addressing a meeting of Khatam ul-Anbiya commanders on December 12 said the signing of a contract with Hyundai was actually the final stage of a project that had been kicked off in 2008. Jahangiri said in 2008 the Korean company had received 25 percent of the finance for making the ships, but cooperation was stalled under international sanctions, and now the project is about to run the rest of its course.