Shipping

"DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, said on Thursday it is talking to Iranian authorities about starting port operations in the country. The company is interested in Iranian port operations on the Caspian Sea and in the Gulf, Chairman Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem told reporters on a conference call on Thursday. 'Iran has a great land bridge of rail that will connect the Silk Road … and we figure with our ports in the Gulf we need to go through Iran,' he said. Two out of DP World’s three ports in the UAE, including flagship Jebel Ali, are in the Gulf and it has port operations on the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. The port operator is just one of many multinational firms that have expressed interest in investing in Iran once sanctions are lifted... Bin Sulayem said he visited Iran two weeks before the agreement was reached. 'We are very interested in the Iranian market and we believe it has great potential,' he said." (Gulf News, "DP World in talks to operate ports in Iran," 8/27/15)

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"DP World, one of the largest port operators in the world, is weighing investments of up to $1 billion in Iran, the IRNA news agency quoted officials as saying. A delegation from the Dubai-based company, including its chairman and executives and their British partners, is visiting Iran on a three-day trip to study investment opportunities, it said. On Tuesday, they visited the Caspian port of Bandar Anzali, the Qeshm island in the Persian Gulf and Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman to assess trade capacities. 'The Emirati delegation will be examining the capacities of the three free trade zones for an investment of $500 million to $1 billion,' deputy head of the Chabahar Free Trade Zone Mohsen Mohammadi Moin said." (Press TV, "Top port operator weighs Iran investment," 7/8/215)

"Mohammad Rastad, the managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization, accompanied by Iranian delegation visited the managers of Contship Italia Group at the Port of La Spezia in Italy." (October 20, 2018)

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“In the second half-year 2016 EUROGATE GmbH & Co. KGaA, KG, in a consortium with the Iranian company SINA Port & Marine Co. (SPMCO) of Teheran, competed to operate Container Terminals CT 1 and CT 2 in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. In the interim the consortium has qualified with the Iranian Ports & Maritime Organisation (PMO) as one of three participants in the final offer for CT 1 (capacity: 1.5 million TEUs) and one of two participants in the final offer for CT 2 (capacity: 4.0 million TEUs). Meanwhile the project was taken over by EUROKAI GmbH & Co. KGaA with the involvement of CONTSHIP Italia.”

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"Italy and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on expansion of maritime and port cooperation following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) between Tehran and world powers, a report said. Italy's largest container terminal operator Contship Italia and Iran’s Sina Port and Marine Company (SPMCO) will develop their bilateral ties in the fields of maritime trade and ports as a prelude to further expansion of trade volume between the two countries. 'This MoU represents a great opportunity and milestone for the involved countries in this historical period marked by a new level of economic cooperation and political relationships,' Contship said in a statement..." (Tasnim News, "Italy Seeks to Develop Maritime, Port Cooperation with Iran," 8/4/15)

"Iran is holding an international maritime exhibition in Tehran from June 6 to 9. Foreign companies have attended the show hoping to find market in the post-sanctions Iran. There is a lot that can be done in Iran after the removal of the sanctions, Zeljko Bezjak, counselor and head of energy at the Croatian company Adriadiesel told Trend June 7 on the fairground in Tehran. Bezjak whose company makes vessels of different types and carries out many other maritime activities said that the possibility is high that his company can start doing business with Iran after sanctions are removed... 'There are powerful companies in Iran, great possibilities, and the Iranian market is a good one,' Bezjak noted. 'We can offer services in oil spill recovery, offshore drilling, fire fighting, chemical and oil tankers, ship and yacht building, and our specialty making engines for vessels.'" (Trend, "Croatian maritime company in Iran to find way to a ‘good market’", 6/8/15)

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said the Kandla port in Gujarat will soon be connected with Iran’s Chabahar port, which will give a boost to India’s international trade and place the Indian port firmly on the global map. India Ports Global Pvt. Ltd (IPGPL), a joint venture between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Kandla Port Trust (KPT) for development of ports overseas will develop and operate the Chabahar port. IPGPL is in the process of setting up two container berths and three multi-cargo berths." (May 2017)

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“Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT, at Navi Mumbai) would take 60 per cent equity in the Indian company to be formed for developing the Chabahar port in southeastern Iran. Kandla Port Trust (KPT) would hold the remaining equity.” (Business Standard, "JNPT to take 60% equity in Iran port project," 12/15/2014)

“Iran wants to return to the non-oil shipbuilding market with a $300 million potential order of 10 bulk carriers from Singapore-listed shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd., which may be the first such delivery in four years, people with knowledge of the matter said. The order, which could be completed over the next few weeks, involves 10 bulk carriers that would mainly used to accommodate Iran's huge iron-ore imports as well as copper exports. The people said the likely end-user of the 82,000-ton ships is Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the country's biggest bulk carrier in terms of capacity. ‘If finalized, the down payment will be handled by a private-equity fund, but the ships will be used by IRISL,’ one person said.” (WSJ, "Iran Aims to Return to Shipping Market" 7/17/2014) 

On Jun 7, 2013 STX Pan Ocean went bankrupt.^[1]

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Pan Ocean is a subsidiary of STX Corporation.

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On Pan Ocean's Company Website, the Islamic Republic of Iran is listed among those countries on the "Service Routes" of Pan Ocean Tankers, Break Bulk Liners, and Trampers.

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“Iranian and South Korean officials underlined their willingness to further broaden their relations in shipping and maritime sector. Deputy Head of Trade Development Organization of South Korea Kiman Nam and Managing Director of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Saeednejad, in a meeting in Tehran on Sunday, discussed ways for increased presence of South Korean vessels in Iranian waters. Managing Directors of South Korean Hyundai, Pan Ocean and Hanjin shipping lines who took part in the meeting highlighted boosting the mutual cooperation on ports, sea and shipping lines. The Iranian official, on his part, said the country is ready to work with South Korean companies, and added Iran is ready for a shipping line agreement with the country. The South Korean official, for his part, said his country is ready for bolstering naval and port cooperation with Iran. Late in January, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and his South Korean counterpart Kang Chang-hee, in a meeting in Tehran, voiced their capitals' willingness to open new avenues for expansion of their bilateral relations in all spheres. The volume of non-oil trade transactions between Iran and South Korea stood at $6.2 billion in 2012.” (Fars, “Iran, South Korea to Enhance Maritime Cooperation,” 3/10/14)

"Siqiriya Maritime Corporation was designated today pursuant to E.O. 13645 for providing material support to NITC.  The following vessels have been identified as property in which Siqiriya Maritime Corporation has an interest: Anthem, Jaffna, and Olysa." (U.S. Department of State, "Additional Treasury and State Designations Targeting Networks Linked to Iranian WMD Proliferation and Sanctions Evasion," 12/12/13)