According to Total News, quoted by Gasht-o-Gozar News, Masoud Polmeh, the Secretary General of the Iran Shipping and Related Services Association, after enumerating the important factors in the slowness of goods transfer from Iranian ports, said, inefficiency is one of the important reasons for the deposition of imported goods in our ports, the clearance of imported goods to the country will reach the customs at the last administrative and financial stage. As a result, it may be thought that customs is the main bottleneck for the deposition of goods, while the reality is not like this.
He further added, among the important and influential factors for the deposition of imported goods is the lack of access to international SWIFT, as a result of which the transfer of currency and the payment of the purchase of goods are slow and difficult, as well as obtaining various and independent licenses, is another obstacle to facilitate the clearance of goods.
The Secretary General of the Iran Shipping and Related Services Association stated regarding the needs of international shipping: shipping activity is not solely focused and exclusive to the activity of the country that owns the flag, as a result, this is possible with any number of ships owned by Iran or under the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, due to the absence of restrictions on traffic and activity, ships can operate on other commercial routes even without the need to visit Iranian ports. In this sense, it is not possible to consider the number of fleets for this part of logistics activities.
He pointed out, in this context, any amount of increase in owned tonnage and under the flag will increase the share of exchange of seaborne goods and improve the ranking of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world.
Polmeh pointed out the necessity of human resources as an important base of the National Shipping Organization of Iran and added, by establishing effective relations with international professionals, this organization has been able to obtain scientific and specialized texts and resources to enable the presence of Iranian forces in providing training courses and international specialized workshops.
He continued, at the moment, in the country, an agreement has been reached and is being implemented with the Islamic Azad University by creating and concluding a memorandum of understanding for the academic fields of maritime and port business management at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels and in line with it, benefiting from executive mechanisms and having two schools – we offer short-term and practical training to those interested in this field.
The Secretary General of the Iran Shipping and Related Services Association, regarding the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Iran Transportation Association, stated, the Shipping Association has contributed to the establishment of bilateral relations by establishing professional interaction and cooperation with other organizations, while maintaining rights and mutual respect. In this regard, in educational affairs, removing business obstacles, resolving disputes, and facilitating financial and operational processes for inter-organizational members, good measures worthy of attention have been prepared and implemented.
Pointing to the importance of smartening maritime transport, Polmeh said, information circulation has an important place in the field of maritime and port business, therefore, this area has been a leader in terms of smartening and benefiting from updated software and computer and satellite systems compared to other transportation models, although the problems resulting from sanctions restrictions prevent us from easy and quick access to the innovations and technologies of the world and have been an obstacle to benefiting from self-driving ships and similar port equipment. At the same time, these problems are not obstacles for expanding and developing the maritime and port logistics activities in the country.