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German, Italian port operators ink Iran deal
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By Presstv.com
Contship Italia and Germany’s Eurogate have signed an MoU with Iran’s biggest port company Sina Port and Marine to resume trade after lifting of sanctions on the Islamic Republic..
The memorandum covers exchange of experience and know-how and development of Iran’s logistics sector and its ports, a European media report said.
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In a statement, Contship said the MoU represents “a great opportunity and milestone for the involved countries in this historical period marked by a new level of economic cooperation and political relationships”.
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Contship Italia is Italy’s largest container terminal operator. Eurogate is Germany’s leading port operator with a 33% stake in Contship Italia. Sina Port and Marine operates Iran’s major ports of Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.
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International shipping lines are already stepping up port calls at Iranian ports as the country’s massive maritime trade sector is emerging from the sanctions.
Last month, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and the country’s leading ports operator, the Tidewater Middle East Maritime Company, were removed from the US list of companies designated for sanctions and assets freeze.
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CEO of the Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) Diego Aponte and chairman of Duai-based DP World container terminal operator Sultan bin Sulayem have recently visited Iran.
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MSC is the world’s second-largest ocean carrier. The world’s largest carrier and MSC’s partner, Maersk Line, has also said its sees great potential in Iran for trade.
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Hyundai Merchant Marine, Hanjin Shipping and Yang Ming have already started to serve Bandar Abbas, with French carrier CMA CGM expected to call at the country’s largest port on Thursday with an 11,356 twenty-foot-equivalent unit capacity ship.
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Intensified US and European sanctions on Iran’s shipping have impaired commercial maritime traffic, curbing otherwise legal trade.
