The National Iranian Tanker Company, the country’s top oil shipping company, has increased its share in international markets by 50% in the past two years, the state-owned company’s managing director said.
“Since January 2016, which marks the lifting of sanctions against Iran’s energy and banking sectors, we have raised NITC’s presence in international markets by about 50%,” Nassrollah Sardashti was also quoted as saying by ILNA on Tuesday.
Referring to the company’s achievements in the past fiscal year (ended March 20), Sardashti noted that NITC joined important shipping associations such as Baltic and International Maritime Council, which is the largest international shipping association representing ship-owners, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, that is the association of the owners of independent tankers in the world, and Oil Companies International Marine Forum, a voluntary association of oil companies having an interest in the shipment of crude oil and oil products.
The official added that in the past fiscal, NITC was certified by an international classification society DNV GL, according to third-party standards of ISO 9001:2015 (quality management system) and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management system), which are important steps toward making a strong comeback to the international arena.
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, DNV GL currently has more than 13,000 employees and 350 offices operating in more than 100 countries, including Iran, and provides services to several industries, including maritime, renewable energy, oil and gas, electrification, food and beverage and healthcare.
Tanker Fleet Modernization
According to Sardashti, in line with modernizing the tanker fleet, NITC scrapped four dilapidated oil vessels in the last fiscal and two others are scheduled to be scrapped this year.
The state-owned company plans to modernize its fleet of around 70 tankers, one of the largest in the world, under a five-year program, and Norwegian companies are on NITC's list to help the company upgrade its large fleet.
NITC is on a mission to reduce the average age of its tanker fleet from 10 years old, according to the company’s former chief executive, Sirous Kianersi, who said the renovation program will not affect NITC's capacity of 15 million deadweight tonnage.
Along with the national shipping line IRISL, NITC plans to form a joint venture in collaboration with the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization to renovate tankers.
Stressing the low rates of leasing vessels, he said,”During the period I was the commercial director of the company, NITC experienced several cycles of stagnation, but we could handle the situation each time.”
Sardashti stressed that based on projections, the shipping market will improve in 2019.
Referring to the name of the present fiscal declared by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as “Support for Iranian Products”, Sardashti said that as the National Iranian Oil Company and other oil and refinery units are expected to use NITC vessels for delivering petroleum products, the company itself should increase efforts in the fields of equipment provision, maintenance and safety.
