Indian Register of Shipping Opens Iran Office
THE Indian Register of Shipping has set up an office in Tehran after being recognised by Iran’s maritime authority as a classification society, the organisation said in a statement on Monday.
According to MANA, the shipping register joins a long list of companies, including peers such as Lloyd’s Register and Rina, that have gained entry to the Iranian market after the lifting of Western sanctions.
Classification societies are key to returning Iran's once-stranded tanker fleet to the global market, and also for the build-out of a new fleet of vessels across segments as Tehran's trade volumes recover from decades of economic isolation.
IRClass enters Iran at a time of growing political uncertainty and a hardline stance by the new US presidency against Iran’s return to global markets and trading activity.
“The Middle East is a key focus market and we see significant potential for growth,” IRClass managing director Suresh Sinha said in a statement.
IRClass said it had already been engaged with the Iranian Classification Society and had signed a preliminary co-operation agreement in January 2015.