In an exclusive interview with Iran Press on Saturday, Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Akhoundi, said in 2017, 10.3 billion tonnes of cargo was shipped around the world, by a global fleet of commercial vessels capable of transporting 1.6 billion tonnes of Cargo at any one time.
Akhoundi added: "The important point is that the Islamic republic of Iran has a total of 238 commercial and cargo-carrying vessels , and Iran is ranked 21st in the world in terms of volume of cargoes and commodities shipped around the world. Thus, Iran's commercial fleet of vessels is one of the most important in the world."
In further remarks, Abbas Akhoundi said: "Fortunately, maritime transport is one of the safest forms of transportation, and maritime accidents occur only very rarely. But when an accident does occur at Sea, the global media and public opinion quite rightly focus on it."
Akhoundi added: "This year, we have celebrated the world maritime day, which is today, by inviting the secretary-general of International Maritime Organisation ( IMO) to our gathering. The International Maritime Organisation ( IMO) carefully analyzes each and every maritime accident , and will list all the appropriate factors involved, and will make safety recommendations in future conventions, so that such accidents won't happen in the future."
The Minister of Roads and Urban Development added: "Globally, in oil and gas, 60 percent of all crude oil is transported by Sea -- the oil is shipped around the world. We hope, with our large and modern fleet of vessels, and with assistance from IMO and other international bodies, to be able to get round US sanctions and keep our economy moving forward."
