Freeport secures contract with Iranian shipping line
The Malta Freeport has been chosen to serve as Mediterranean hub port for Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the Freeport announced this week.
The development comes following the line’s decision to begin transhipment operations in the region. The new service is expected to generate a throughput of approximately 150,000 TEUs per annum, representing more than 10 per cent of the Freeport’s existing business.
The Iranian shipping line is the largest commercial shipping company in the Middle East and is ranks 25th in the world. The carrier has 11 new buildings on order, which, when fully on stream by 2005, will offer an additional capacity of 25,890 TEUs.
Malta’s geographical location contributed to IRISL’s decision to come to Malta and confirms the Freeport’s position as one of the leading transhipment hubs in the Mediterranean. The Freeport is continuously looking to improve the level of service provided to its clients and current negotiations on the agreement with port workers and the collective agreement with its employees are aimed at improving work practices so as to ensure that the Freeport remains competitive.
The first mainline vessel of this carrier, M/V Iran Zanjan, called at the Freeport this week. The vessel is one of the new buildings of IRISL, which was delivered this year having a carrying capacity of 2,478 TEUs. The service is expected to come fully on stream during the next two months when six of the company’s new vessels will be deployed. The service will include weekly calls by two mainliners trading between the Middle East and Europe and three dedicated feeders connecting Malta to a number of ports in the Mediterranean.
The service will increase the number of ports served from Malta Freeport to 117 including new connections to the ports of Felixstowe, Bandar Abbas, Dubai, Mumbai and Tobruk. The dedicated feeders will also provide a reliable weekly service to a number of ports in Libya as IRISL has a strong presence in this region.
IRISL is rapidly expanding its operations and presently has 47,889 TEUs in service and deploys a total fleet of 43 container vessels. Overall, including its fleet of bulk carriers, the group operates 112 vessels. Within the containerisation sector, the carrier presently operates two mainline services to the Middle East, namely the Europe Container Line and the Asia Container Line.