Iran’s southern port of Bushehr is about to launch a cargo and passenger shipping line with Qatar using a roro/passenger ship called Grand Ferry.
The Palau-flagged vessel has a length overall of 145.02m and its breadth extreme is 26.5m.
Palau is an archipelago of over 500 islands, part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean.
Grand Ferry berthed at Bushehr Port last Tuesday on June 18 after setting sail from Qatar’s Hamad Port on June 4.
“The vessel is equipped with 500 beds in 250 rooms as well as 1,300 chairs suitable for carrying passengers in five classes,” said Bushehr’s Ports and Maritime Organisation Managing Director Siavash Arjmandzade.
The official noted that the vessel will fist transit cargo to Qatar and later will be used to transport passengers to Qatar from Bushehr on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.
Grand Ferry is expected to carry cargo and passengers from Bushehr to Qatar twice a week, he said.
“As Iran-Qatar trade ties develop over the time especially transit of cargo from Bushehr, as the closest Iranian port to Qatar, the launch of Grand Ferry will promise more maritime trade between the two countries,” Arjmandzade added.
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle.
Iran helped Qatar when it was sanctioned by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), increasing its trade exchanges with the tiny Persian Gulf country.