SHANA - An Iranian tanker official says facilitating banking relations between Iran and Norway is a necessity for boosting ties of the two countries in shipbuilding industries, voicing Iran's keenness to maintain relations with Norwegian shipbuilders.

Addressing the Iran-Norway Bilateral Maritime Opportunities conference in Oslo on Thursday, Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Sirous Kianersi underlined the need for boosting banking ties between the two countries in order to facilitate shipbuilding relations.

"NITC has enjoyed favorable cooperation with Norwegian shipbuilders and equipment suppliers over the course of the past 20 years and the ties will remain so in the future," he said at the seminar.

Kianersi further added that his company has listed Norwegian companies among the main suppliers of parts and items in NITC's initiative to renovate its fleet of tankers and bolster the number of its LNG and LPG carriers.

He also said that NITC has signed a document with the Research Center of Petroleum Industry (RIPI-the research arm of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum) aimed at cutting down the sulfur emission of its fleet in a bid to observe the 2020 global sulfur limit.

The seminal was held on Thursday with the cooperation of the Norwegian Ship-owners' Association.