A total of 4.22 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in the ports of Qeshm Island in the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22), registering a 34% rise compared with the similar period of last year, according to a local official.
“From the overall throughput, 2.16 million tons pertained to unloading and 2.06 million tons to loading. More than 3.77 million tons of the handled cargoes were non-oil goods and the remaining 455,391 tons were oil products,” Ali Ashtari, director general of Qeshm Ports and Maritime Organization, was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
The official added that exports from Qeshm reached 250,210 tons in the same period to register a threefold jump compared with the corresponding period of last year while imports stood at 69,116 tons.
Ashtari noted that container throughput at Qeshm Island’s ports reached 1,167 TEUs, indicating a 64% year-on-year rise.
Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf is the largest island in Iran and has 12 trade, industrial, oil and passenger ports.
It is adjacent to the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir - both in Hormozgan Province. With an area of close to 1,500 square kilometers, it has a small population of around 150,000 full-time residents.