Iranian Minister: Giant Oil Tanker Ship Ready for Delivery to Venezuela

Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mehdi Qazanfari announced that construction of the first Iran-made Aframax oil tanker ship is complete and the giant vessel will be ready for delivery to Venezuela soon.
Qazanfari made the announcement Thursday, adding that Iran’s shipping industry can bring about economic growth for the country.

“So far, we have signed a deal to sell several vessels to Venezuela and we should be able to deliver the orders in the near future,” the Iranian minister said.

Iran and Venezuela signed a contract for the construction of 4 Aframax vessels in 2009.

In August 2012, Managing-Director of Sadra Company Mehdi Etesam announced construction of the four highly-advanced Aframax oil tankers for Venezuela, saying that it is the first time that a Middle-Eastern country is building such crude vessels.

“This project was launched in Iran’s Southern waters last month and is now in final stages of construction,” Etesam said at the time

Iran in July 2012, joined the world club of oil tanker producers after launching its first domestically-made 113,000-ton Aframax oil tanker in the Southern waters of the country.

“The first Aframax oil tanker which was built by Iranian experts at Sadra industrial island and at the order of Venezuela is 250 meters long, 44 meters wide and 21 meters high, and has a 14.8 draft,” Zarbi said at the time.

He said that the Aframax weighed 113,000 tons and could traverse at the speed of 16 knots per hour.

Appreciating the Iranian experts for building the vessel, Zarbi said, “Iran succeeded in building its first gigantic oil tanker despite the westerners’ cruel sanctions.”

Sadra Company had earlier announced that the Aframax oil tanker was worth 52 million euros and was the first of its kind built in the Middle East.

Despite the western embargos, Iran’s maritime and shipbuilding industries have made huge progress in recent years