A passenger ferry has been launched between the key southern ports of Chabahar and Konarak, both located in Sistan-Baluchestan Province. “The fully-equipped ferry will take tourists to the Tis holiday resort and the unique mangrove forests,” said Hamed Ali Mobaraki, director of the Chabahar Free Zone Organization, according to the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad. Purchasing and preparing the vessel cost 20 billion rials ($542,000), all paid for by private companies. “Exploiting the tourism capacities of Oman Sea’s spectacular, unspoiled beaches can help develop the sector in Chabahar,” he said. Three more ferries will be added to the fleet by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19) to “ensure the tourists’ convenience and improve service quality” during the Nowruz (Iranian New Year) holiday season.
