Systemic analysis of port activities in the maritime development of the Islamic Republic of Iran and providing policy recommendation

Heirani, Hossein; Yazdani, MohammadAli; Beik Mohammadlou, Hassan; Ghomshe, Fateme

doi:10.30507/jmsp.2025.515854.2809

Systemic analysis of port activities in the maritime development of the Islamic Republic of Iran and providing policy recommendation

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors

hossein heirani ¹

MohammadAli Yazdani ²

Hassan Beik Mohammadlou ³

Fateme Ghomshe ⁴

¹ Assistant professor, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies Dep. National Research Institute for Science Policy. Tehran. Iran.

² Director General, Office of Strategic Studies, Planning, Budget, and Administrative Transformation, Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

³ Faculty Member at the Center for Strategic Research, Expediency Discernment Council. Tehran. Iran.

⁴ PhD candidate at National Research Institute for Science Policy. Tehran. Iran.

10.30507/jmsp.2025.515854.2809

Abstract

Recognizing maritime-oriented development as crucial for leveraging its economic, commercial, and geopolitical assets, Iran focuses on its ports as vital links in the maritime supply chain. This research employs a systems analysis framework to investigate the functional and structural aspects of Iran's port activities. The study aims to pinpoint structural weaknesses within port sub-functions and propose policy interventions to enhance these sub-functions, ultimately achieving the broader goal of maritime development.

The analysis highlights key impediments: a low volume of container traffic relative to regional peers, inadequate adoption of port automation technologies, limited involvement of the private sector in port investments, and Iran's modest share in the regional bunkering market. To overcome these challenges, the research suggests several policy levers: utilizing regional diplomacy to boost container traffic (especially for specific goods), formulating and implementing tailored investment models for knowledge-based enterprises, establishing an attractive investment ecosystem, facilitating Rial-based and foreign currency contracts with capital guarantees through the National Development Fund to reduce investor risk, and expanding the production capacity of competitively priced low-sulfur fuels. The successful implementation of these strategies is expected to bolster Iran's standing in both regional and international maritime trade, thereby fostering sustainable maritime-oriented growth.

Keywords

Systems Analysis

Functional-Structural Analysis

Port Operations

Maritime-Oriented Development

Maritime Advancement