Ahmadinejad to ban purchase of foreign ships

In a move aimed at further enhancing Iran’s shipbuilding industry, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he will ban the purchase of foreign ships by Iranian organizations.

“In the first cabinet meeting, I will declare that the manager of any public organization who ‘goes after’ foreign ships will be relieved from his duties and dismissed from the state-run bodies,” Ahmadinejad warned on Thursday.

He was speaking in a ceremony held in the southern province of Hormozgan to launch Iran’s first indigenous ocean-going container ship, dubbed “Iran-Arak.”

“Iran’s shipbuilding experts are committed to meet all public organizations’ needs for any kind of ships in the shortest time,” Fars news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO) has manufactured the 7,500-ton container ship, which can accelerate to 32 knots (59.3 Km/h) and is able to sail 25 days non-stop.

Iran has spent USD 50 million on the construction of the new vessel, which is 185 meters (607ft) long, 30 meters (98.4ft) wide, and has 10 meters (32.8 ft) of draft.