Bushehr Port Dredging Allows Docking of 30,000-Ton Vessels

The 1.9-trillion-rial ($7.7 million) project, which deepens the channels to 10.8 meters, will allow for 30,000-ton deadweight ships to call at the terminal, IRNA reported. 

“About 5.75 million cubic meters of sediments and debris have been dredged from the channels over 20 months,” Mohammad Rastad, the head of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said recently.

“Before the completion of this project, Bushehr Port could only accommodate ships with up to 15,000 tons of cargo capacity.”

Bushehr is one of the important ports in Persian Gulf, which has an international airport and highways connected to Ahvaz and Shiraz. A secondary coastal road links Bushehr to Bandar Abbas to the southeast.

Latest data provided by Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran show a total of 1.41 million tons of oil and non-oil commodities were loaded and unloaded in Bushehr Port in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Aug. 21) to register a 21.88% rise year-on-year.

Non-oil goods accounted for close to 1.3 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 77.69% hike year-on-year. 

The remaining 383,456 tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 33.88% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Container loading and unloading during the five-month period decreased by 5.66% to stand at more than 13,515 TEUs.

A total of 889,152 tons of commodities were exported from the port under review and over 531,987 tons were imported, registering a 67.13% and 58.01% upsurge respectively YOY. 

Around 324 tons of goods were transited through the Iranian ports during the same period, indicating an 89.54% plunge YOY.

The southern Iranian province of Bushehr, in which the eponymous port is located, has a 937-kilometer coastline alongside the Persian Gulf.

More than 5.7 million tons of commodities worth over $1.18 billion were exported from Bushehr Province in southern Iran during the first three months of the current fiscal year (March 20-June 20).

According to Director General of Bushehr Customs Office Behrouz Qarehbeygi, petrochemicals had the lion’s share of the exports with 4.2 million tons worth over $1.14 billion.

Butane, propane, polyethylene, methanol, urea, styrene, butene, raffinate, cement, clinker, base oil, polystyrene and alkylbenzene were the main petrochemical products exported from Bushehr during the period.

Gas condensate was next with 7,000 tons worth $3.7 million.

Imports from Bushehr stood at 196,000 tons worth $218.14 million during the same period to register a 17% decline in terms of value compared with the similar period of last year.

Bushehr’s exports reached 24.75 million tons worth $8.5 billion in the last Iranian year that ended on March 19, 2020.

The exports, excluding gas condensates, amounted to 23.72 million tons worth $7.62 billion to register a 19% rise in tonnage compared to the year before. 

The export figures do not take into account crude oil shipments.

Apart from gas condensates and petrochemical products, Bushehr also exports minerals, seafood and vegetable.

China, the UAE, Afghanistan, India, South Korea, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey and Brazil were the main export destinations of the southern province last year.

About 505,000 tons of goods worth $1.23 billion were imported into Bushehr last year.

They mainly included auto tires, butter, tea, auto parts, rice, tools, industrial faucets and automatic door parts.

China, the UAE, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, Germany, Sri Lanka, Italy, South Korea and Spain were top exporters to the province.