New Korean Ships to Reduce Average Age of Iran’s Fleet of Freighters

The ten container ships Iran has purchased from South Korea will pull down the average age of the country’s fleet of cargo ships by four years, an official announced.

CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Mohammad Saeedi said Iran will take delivery of the first South Korean container ship in the first month of the next Iranian year (March-April 2018).

He also noted that the new freighters will bring down the average age of Iran’s fleet of merchant ships from 16 to 12.

The IRISL signed a deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (HHI) to buy 10 ships from the world’s largest shipbuilding company in December 2016. The contract has been financed by Korean banks.

Under the contract, valued at $650 million, Hyundai will build 14,500 TEU container ships and 50,000 DWT product tankers.

It was signed as part of the IRISL’s plans to renovate its fleet through a total investment of $2.5 billion.

The company operates about 115 oceangoing vessels, but some of the ships are old, have been deemed unsafe to travel and cannot be insured.