An Iranian shipping company, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL), has started a pilot transit of cargo between Russia and India, through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a major international shipping route for the Indo-Russian trade. Iranian officials have said that the move will help boost Iran’s transit revenue
This comes just days after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited New Delhi for talks with Indian officials.
An Iranian official based in the jointly owned Russian–Iranian port of Astrakhan, Dariush Jamali, told media on 13 June that two large containers filled with wood products left Saint Petersburg, and should arrive at the Nhava Sheva port within the next few weeks.
The cargo will make its way through the INSTC, passing through the Caspian Sea port of Anzali and the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas before arriving in India, Jamali said, where they will “be dispatched to India’s largest container port.”
Jamali noted that this is the first time that cargo passes between Russia and India through Iran and the INSTC with a bill of lading (BoL), a legal document allowing transport within domestic borders through international shipment.
Iran recently expressed its wish to benefit from increased trade between Moscow and New Delhi, a result of the Ukraine conflict and heavy western sanctions on Russia.
According to Iranian officials, cargo transport from Russia to India through the INSTC will boost Iran’s transit revenue amid its efforts to battle US sanctions and boost its economy.
The Iranian Oil Ministry news agency, Shana, has reported that the country’s oil exports have increased by 60 percent since the start of the new Iranian calendar year, despite the harsh sanctions.
The rise in oil exports were the result of a policy shift by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in planning for the success of the Iranian economy.
According to Raisi, the economic roadmap written by Tehran is designed to anticipate growth and success independently of the outcomes of the negotiations to revive the sanctions-removal deal in Vienna.