A total of 128.13 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded at Iran’s 21 commercial ports during the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2019-Feb. 19) to register a 1.19% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Latest figures published on the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran’s website show non-oil goods accounted for close to 87.66 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 0.95% year-on-year growth.
The remaining 40.47 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 1.68% increase YOY.
Container loading and unloading declined by 38.66% to stand at 1.22 million TEUs.
Close to 64.28 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports under review and more than 28.74 million tons were imported during the 11-month period, showing a 12.57% and 14.26% growth respectively year-on-year.
A total of 3.59 million tons of goods were transited through these ports during the same period to register a 41.98% YOY decline.
The 21 ports under study include Iran’s southern ports of Abadan, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Genaveh, Bandar Lengeh, Chavibdeh, Arvandkenar, Charak and Dayyer located on the shores of Persian Gulf, Shahid Rajaee, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar on the coasts of the Sea of Oman and the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the shoreline of Caspian Sea.
Shahid Rajaee was the busiest port during the period under review.
More than 63.01 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in this port, registering a 2.54% growth compared with the similar period of last year.
Non-oil goods accounted for 39.53 million tons and oil products reached 23.47 million tons of the total, showing a 0.05% and 2.77% growth respectively year-on-year.
Located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s biggest container port.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee. The port complex also accounts for over 85% of all container throughput in the country.
According to Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Kouchi, the head of Majlis Development Commission, Shahid Rajaee Port has a 6% share in the region’s total container throughput per annum, ILNA reported.
Imam Khomeini Port in the southern Khuzestan Province was the second busiest port during the 11 months under review, as it handled more than 40.8 million tons of commodities. The figure shows a 16.1% increase YOY.
Non-oil goods accounted for more than 27.37 million tons and oil products for over 13.43 million tons of the total throughput at Imam Khomeini Port, registering a 21.45% and 6.5% growth respectively year-on-year.
The third busiest was Qeshm Port that is also located in southern Iran. More than 6.6 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded there, indicating a 22.86% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
Non-oil goods accounted for around 6.5 million tons and oil products for around 123,535 tons of the total throughput in Qeshm Port, showing a 23.2% and 18.2% growth respectively YOY.
A total of 13.37 million passengers were transported to and from the aforementioned ports, registering a 17.66% decrease compared with last year’s similar period.
