Tehran Times - Iran and India launched their third direct shipping route to connect Iran’s port city of Qeshm to the Indian port of Kandla, the portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) reported on Sunday.

An Indian vessel called “Nashat” delivered 13,000 tons of goods from India to the Iranian port to officially inaugurate the Qeshm-Kandla route.

The first shipping route between the two countries was put into operation in 2017 between Iran’s Chabahar port and Mumbai.

In January 2019, Iran and India inaugurated the second direct shipping route which passes through Mumbai, Mundra, Kandla, Chabahar and finally Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.
With this new shipping line launched, more goods and agricultural products will be shipped between the two countries.

After years of negotiations, Iran has awarded the development project of its strategic Chabahar port to India, and the South Asian country committed $500 million to build two new berths in this port.

In May 2016, Iran, India and Afghanistan signed a trilateral transit agreement in Tehran, a part of which is dedicated to Chabahar port’s development project.

At the time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that New Delhi would be investing $500 million in the strategic port.

Then during the visit of the Iranian president to India in February 2018, the lease contract for Shahid Beheshti Port-Phase 1 was signed between Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) and India’s Ports Global Limited (IPGL).

India is also using the mentioned shipping routes to transit goods to Afghanistan and Persian Gulf nations as well as the countries in Central Asia.

Through Chabahar port India can bypass Pakistan and transport goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia, while Afghanistan can get linked to India via sea.