Iran’s largest shipping company NITC, the privatized Iranian shipping company, is in talks for permission to sail in Western waters, says a report in WSJ.
NITC has amassed the world’s largest fleet of super tankers and is in talks to sail back into western waters should the Islamic Republic strike a nuclear deal.
Managing director of NITC Ali Akbar Safaei confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the company is in discussions with London’s Protection & Indemnity pool of insurers.
NITC Captain Nasrollah Sardashti also told the Journal that the company has purchased 20 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Chinese shipbuilders in the past two-and-a-half years.
This brings the company’s VLCC count to 42, making it the largest fleet of the super-sized oil tankers in the world, Sardashti said.
Sardashti’s statement marks the company’s first-ever disclosure of its fleet size.
The company website says:"NITC, in observance of IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulations, has a huge project for replacing tankers, including the construction and purchase of 25 tankers with the total capacity of 6 million tons."
NITC is a private operator that became Iran’s sole crude shipper when European sanctions banned the insurance of vessels transporting the country’s oil. But with the prospect of sanctions being lifted, the company has been quietly preparing for a return to Western maritime zones.
In recent years, NITC has taken great steps towards accomplishing enhanced management systems, maritime safety and transport, the results of which have been achieving an array of awards obtained including ISO 9002, ISO 14001 (for management), PMS (for maintenance and repair system), STCW (for maritime supervision systems) and ISMC (for maritime safety management).