Iran has recently launched a direct shipping route to Oman in what is expected to help diversify access to international export markets for the Islamic Republic.
The route between Iran’s Shahid Rajaei Port and the Omani port of Sohar was launched on Feb. 4. It will be operated by private Iranian company Khedri Jahan Darya for one year, the Amman-based news website Al Bawaba reported.
The Iranian firm will conduct trips between Shahid Rajaei and Sohar twice a month in the initial phase, which could increase to once every 10 days in the second half of 2016.
Container ships with a capacity of 96 TEUs or twenty-foot equivalent units will be used on the route for carrying agricultural products and perishable goods between the two countries, IRNA reported.
Iran and Oman in April signed an agreement to establish the new route during the visit to Tehran by a large Omani business delegation.
There are already speculations that Iran and Oman plan to use the route to promote trade across the region.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told reporters during a visit to Ashgabat in early March that Iran and Turkmenistan are determined to activate a “south-north economic corridor” that starts with Oman, passes through Iran and leads to Uzbekistan through Turkmenistan.
The new route is expected to turn Oman into a hub for reexport of Iranian goods in the region, possibly overtaking trade between Iran and the UAE.
The latter is currently Iran’s second largest trade partner after China.
