“Precise planning for small ports has been carried out and boosting the cabotage of goods between main ports and small ports is on the agenda.” said the Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization.

Mohammad Rastad, pointing to the fact that a part of the country's regional interactions, including export and import, is carried out through small ports, stated that meanwhile, a significant portion of job creation on the coast and the economic prosperity of these areas are realized through small ports.

He added: "The Ports and Maritime Organization will do its best by providing a detailed plan for the traditional and commercial fleet so they could utilize the best possible facilities for their operations. “

Emphasizing that the major part of the traditional and lightweight fleet on the southern coasts of the country are engaged in commercial activities and shipping, the deputy minister of Roads and Urban planning stated that this opportunity needs to be provided in order to strengthen the cabotage of goods between main ports and small ports.

Rastad Also elaborated that using the capacity of small ports, transfer of goods on the coast and in the form of transshipment should also be considered.

He concluded: The Ports and Maritime Organization has considered the development of small ports as a priority this year and paying more attention to small ports will enable these ports to operate well in the maritime transport sector.

Reference: pmo.ir

The Director General of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Sistan and Baluchestan met with Kazakh Ambassador to introduce the capabilities and investment opportunities of Chabahar Port at the Kazakhstan's embassy in Tehran.

Director General of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Sistan and Baluchestan met with the Kazakh ambassador to introduce the investment capacities and capabilities of Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar in order to expand and develop commercial-economic cooperation between two countries, while describing the investment opportunities of this port, Director General of Ports and Maritime Affairs stated that Chabahar oceanic port has the ideal opportunity to invest and develop regional cooperation in the fields of exports, imports, transshipment and transit of goods while it offers access to Central Asia and CIS countries.

In this meeting, the ambassador of Kazakhstan emphasized on the expansion of relations between the two countries and the maximum utilization of the port of Chabahar, he also stated: "Certainly, we will prioritize expert studies on taking these opportunities in Chabahar port."

Kazakh ambassador added that considering the successful investment in Chinese ports, we are willing to invest in Chabahar port after studies on construction of warehouses and Silos in particular.

Reference: Pmo.ir

Embattled UK transport secretary Chris Grayling is canceling two ferry contracts that his ministry took out as an insurance policy in the event of a "hard Brexit." 

If Britain had departed the European Union on March 29 without a customs agreement, as seemed likely earlier this year, new border control measures for cross-Channel trade would have been enacted. This would have slowed down port operations for the freight ferries that carry a large proportion of the UK's trade with continental Europe. Britain has since opted to ask Brussels for a delay for further negotiations, and it now has until October 31 to continue internal and external talks. 

"People would expect a responsible government to take out an insurance policy, and that's what we've done, to make sure we can deal with all the challenges in a no-deal Brexit," said Grayling. "We never wanted it, we never worked for it, but we sure as certain needed to be ready for it."

Now that the insurance policy is not needed, the Department for Transport has canceled its two remaining contingency contracts with DFDS and Brittany Ferries. The termination payouts and fees came to a total of about $65 million. 

Grayling's ministry paid another $1.3 million to a consultant to evaluate a contract with a third ferry operator. That contract has also been canceled, as the recently-founded operator had no ships. The Department of Transport has also paid out $43 million to Eurotunnel to settle a dispute over the fairness of the ferry contracts.

Prime Minister Theresa May's political opponents wasted no time in ridiculing the payments and calling for Grayling's removal. “Is Chris Grayling really worth so much to Theresa May that she’s happy to foot a [$108 million] bill racked up in just five months?" said Liberal Democrat spokesperson Jenny Randerson. "If there’s one thing that would unite us all in this Brexit chaos, it would be Mr Grayling being shown the door by the prime minister."

Referesh: maritime-executive.com

Danish shipping major Maersk has launched Customs Clearance online shipping management platform in seven European countries with an aim to provide simple and easy-to-use solutions.

The platform was set up for Germany, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and Spain, the company said, adding that it plans to expand its offering across the world by the end of 2019.

Maersk explained that international trade is subjected to diverse and wide controls and customs regulations that need to be met to ensure that traded goods are entering and exiting legally. If a delay occurs, the entire plan gets affected. A delay causes increased expenses such as storage costs, fines, and penalties, resulting in additional problems for importers and exporters.

“This new one-stop-shop allows us to timely and efficiently handle export and import declarations for our customers. The solution provides downstream benefits of full governance and compliance, eliminates the need to provide a quote as pricing is displayed online, saving three to five minutes per quote,” Vincent Clerc, Chief Commercial Officer of A.P. Moller – Maersk, said.

“In other words, it saves our customers time, money and headaches reducing the number of intermediaries they deal with from three or four to just one as well as paperwork which subsequently reduce the time spent on transactional procedures.”

Maersk has piloted its Ocean and Customs Clearance shipping management platform for almost two years in Germany.

Reference:worldmaritimenews.com

Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Rastad explored ways of using trade and connectivity capacities with the Vietnamese officials.

The managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization met Vietnamese national shipping authorities during a visit to Vietnam and discussed the trade and communications capacities of the two countries. The discussions focused on the launch of a shipping line between ports of the two countries.

Rastad also met with the Deputy Minister of Transportation during his visit to Vietnam and talked through the trade and communications capacities of the two countries on the development of port and maritime cooperation. Mr. Rastad praised the capabilities of the ports of Vietnam and the University of Marine Sciences, while expressing hope that in the future, there will be stronger ties to the corresponding sections in Iran.

The first meeting of Iran-Vietnam Maritime cooperation working group will be held in Tehran by the end of this year, said the managing director of the Ports and maritime Organization while emphasizing on the implementation of Article 15 of the Joint Shipment MoU.

Referring to port capacities and the transit role of Iran in the region, Rastad also pointed to the implementation of issues such as "supporting and setting up a shipping line between the two countries", "exploiting the academic capabilities of the two countries and establishing a link between the relevant authorities", and " facilitating financial transactions and facilitating the transfer of oil products, especially bitumen to Vietnam”

Rastad and accompanying delegation also visited Hai Phong, the biggest trade port in northern Vietnam, on the invitation of the country’s maritime officials and with the aim of boosting port and maritime cooperation. During the meeting, senior directors of the Hai Phong Port presented a report on its capacities and functions.

Reference: pmo.ir

Iran and Bulgaria have signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in different fields, including ports and maritime transport, postal services, trade, meteorology, and standardization policies.

The agreements were signed during a meeting between Iran’s visiting Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami with Bulgarian senior officials, including Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, in Sofia on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two sides also explored the avenues for widening cooperation in other fields such as energy, agriculture, information technologies, youth and sports, and tourism.

Borissov said that Iran is a traditional partner in the Middle East region, and Bulgaria attaches great importance to the development of its relations with that country.

The traditionally good cooperation in the area of transport should be activated, he underscored.

The Bulgarian official said his country welcomes a continuation of the discussions on the options for developing the Greece-Bulgaria-Black Sea-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia-Iran transport corridor, which creates opportunities for effective and reliable freight transport between the Middle East countries and the Central and East European countries.

At this summit, Mohammad Ali Hassanzadeh as the Deputy Director of Port and Economic Affairs of the Ports and Maritime Organization conducted special talks and held joint meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart, finalizing and signing the Memorandum of Understanding on Ports and maritime Relations between the two countries.

Reference: pmo.ir