Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeidi said the first Iranian ship will tie up at European ports within days; “the service would be the first time in five years of sanctions.”

“Iran borders the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to the south and the Caspian Sea to the north and has long been a power in the global shipping industry,” noted the official adding “unfortunately during sanction years, Iranian ships were not permitted to call at European ports.”

Saeidi went on to underline that “with the removal of sanctions and the implementation of JCPOA, new measures were taken by IRISL to reopen the shipping lines between Iran and Europe.”

“IRISL plans to establish joint shipping companies with Germany and Italy in order to fully cover Northern and Southern areas of Europe exploiting full capacities of renewed connections,” he emphasized.

The official confirmed that the first ship deployed to Europe contains petrochemical products; “IRISL plans to start a regular service shipping 6,000 containers along a route that would connect stops at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf to Latin, Central and North American ports while more ports could be added later.”

Mohammad Saeidi commented that “IRISL owns a fleet of 160 vessels, with the biggest ships having a maximum capacity of around 12,000 containers while talks with domestic construction are underway to expand the existing fleet.”

“Over the past four months, IRISL has been negotiating with major shipping clusters such as Greece, Germany, Cyprus, France and Denmark, to lay the groundwork for the company’s re-emergence,” maintained the official highlighting “the company is aiming eventually to add capacity of about 580,000 containers by 2020.”

Executives hope the sailings will be the first step in an ambitious plan by the Iranian company to win a slice of the global container-shipping market.

The company is also contemplating purchases of giant Triple E container vessels, the largest class of container ships in the world.