CMA CGM to Start Calling at Iran

French shipping company CMA CGM is about to start calling at southern Iranian port of Shahid Rajaei as of next month.

The announcement was made by Ebrahim Idani, director general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Department, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports. According to Idani, the first CMA CGM ship scheduled to berth at Shahid Rajaei port in early August is the Andromeda.

The ship boasts a length of 363m, a draft of 15.5m, and a capacity of 11 5000 TEU and is sailing on the company’s CIMEX service. The ship is said to be underway for the Persian Gulf and is scheduled to load new cargo at the port’s second terminal within its ten-destination journey, Idani said.

The move comes following the deal on lifting of nuclear sanctions agreed upon last week between Iran and the six world powers in Vienna.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on July 20th establishing a monitoring system for Iran’s nuclear program and considering the “eventual removal” of all nuclear-related sanctions against the country.

Iran has been busy preparing for the return of major container lines to its ports in anticipation of the lifting of the ban.

The Deputy Managing Director of the Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) for Port Affairs and Special Zones Jalil Eslami declared that in order to attract international shipping lines to the Iranian waters and ports, special discounts were stipulated for foreign cargo owners and ships.

The above mentioned discounts would be calculated for active entities in the field of cargo transit and transshipment based on their performance volume and ship sizes.

He continued that the aforementioned tariffs and charges for cargo loading and discharge in Iranian ports would be enforced by late June 2015.