A total of 23.95 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Iran’s 21 major commercial ports during the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 21-May 21) to register a 4.47% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to figures published in the Ports and Maritime Organization's website, non-oil goods accounted for 17.24 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 0.73% fall year-on-year.
The remaining 6.71 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 15.65% decline YOY.
Container loading and unloading decreased by 60.26% to stand at 173,095 TEUs.
About 11.96 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports under review and 5.57 million tons were imported, showing an 8.13% fall and a 13.85% growth respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
A total of 783,849 tons of goods were transited through the Iranian ports during the same period, indicating a 42.25% fall YOY.
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 alongside the Persian Gulf, Shahid Rajaee, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar along the coasts of Sea of Oman and the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Busiest Ports
Close to 11.8 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Hormozgan Province’s Shahid Rajaee Port, registering an 11.66% decrease compared with the similar period of last year.
Shahid Rajaee was the country’s busiest port during the period. Non-oil goods accounted for 7.87 million tons and oil products for 3.92 million tons of the total, showing a 12.77% and 9.35% decrease 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, 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 two months, handling more than 7.54 million tons of commodities. The figure shows a 2.18% fall YOY.
Non-oil goods accounted for 5.42 million tons and oil products for 2.11 million tons of the total throughput in Imam Khomeini Port, registering a 0.47% and 22.93% fall respectively year-on-year.
The third busiest was Qeshm Port in southern Iran. Close to 1.42 tons of goods were loaded and unloaded there, indicating a 12.92% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
Non-oil goods accounted for close to 1.39 tons and oil products for 28,680 tons of the total throughput in Qeshm Port, showing a 12.6% and 30.78% growth respectively YOY.
A total of 2.06 million passengers were transported to and from these ports, registering a 55.78% plunge compared with last year’s similar period.
