The 13th International Conference on Coasts, Ports and Marine Structures (aka 'ICOPMAS 2018') concluded in Tehran on Wednesday.
Mohammad Rastad, the head of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, was a keynote speaker at the three-day event.
"When it comes to engineering and building maritime structures, Iran is considered a self-sufficient and developed country," Rastad told the conference.
Referring to development projects of Phase III of the southern Shahid Rajaee Port in Homozgan Province and Chabahar Port in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the official said all port projects in the country are carried out by Iranian experts.
“Iran is committed to do its part to achieve the global goal of reducing greenhouse gas emission. To this end, PMO is planning to invest $2 million to limit the use of sulfur in its marine fuel,” he said.
The biennial event, organized by PMO in cooperation with the International Coastal and Marine Structural Engineering Association, is considered one of the oldest and most important scientific events in Iran and the Persian Gulf region.
The first ICOPMAS conference was held at Tehran University 28 years ago. It is billed as a think tank that works to improve the field of coasts and ports engineering, and offers a platform to exchange the latest scientific innovations and technical achievements by gathering engineers, designers, scientists and researchers in the field.
Seventeen national and international organizations, including the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, the World Meteorological Organization and the International Association of Ports and Harbors were among sponsors of the 13th edition of the conference this year.
"Researchers from 40 countries participated in the forum," Mohammad Reza Allahyar, the executive secretary of the conference, said.
“The technical paper review committee of the Permanent Secretariat of ICOPMAS 2018 accepted 80 abstracts for oral and 71 abstracts for poster presentation. Close to 70% of the members of the scientific committee of ICOPMAS 2018 are from Iran.”
Allahyar noted that scientists from the UK, Sweden, Canada, the Netherlands, Oman, Japan and Iran also addressed the forum.
The main subjects on the event’s agenda were hydrodynamic and sediment (waves and currents, tropical storms and tsunami, sediment transport, erosion and geomorphology, metocean measurements and analysis, marine renewable energy), port and coastal management (integrated coastal zone management, crisis management of marine hazards, GIS and remote sensing, port’s technologies and management, coastal and marine tourism) and port engineering and coastal structures (planning and design of ports, design and construction of coastal structures, maintenance, inspection and repair of coastal structures, new equipment and materials for construction of coastal structures, hydrography and dredging).
Experts also discussed offshore and pipeline engineering (design and construction of offshore structures, maintenance, inspection and repair of offshore structures, planning and construction of submarine pipelines, marine geotechnics) and marine environment and safety (ports and maritime safety management, international convention, regulations and rules, pollution and environmental impacts of structures and marine transportation, coastal and marine ecosystems).
In a message to ICOPMAS 2018, International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Kitack Lim commended Iran for holding the event.
“I praise Iranian Roads and Urban Development Ministry and Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization as one of the active members of IMO and for holding the 13th edition of the International Conference on Coasts, Ports and Marine Structures,” his message read.
“Like other UN organizations, IMO follows sustainable development as one of its main and pivotal targets. Holding ICOPMAS in Iran is in line with the main objectives of IMO, as this international organization is seeking sustainable development and achieving strategies to tackle challenges facing maritime activities,” the IMO chief added.
Iran has been selected to host the 10th International Conference on Coastal and Port Engineering in Developing Countries in 2020 by PIANC-COPEDEC.
Established in 1885, PIANC is engaged in the design, development and maintenance of ports, waterways and coastal areas.
