Iran’s largest cargo terminals Stagnation

Bandar Abbas is the largest harbour in Iran used for imports and exports. It is also known as the pulse of Iran’s economy. The harbour’s terminal is one of the largest truck terminals in the country and delivers cargos all around Iran.

But these days, the terminal is almost deserted. For this, many drivers only get to deliver a single cargo per month. The drivers, who had gone on many rounds of strikes to protest the Iranian regime’s corrupt policies and their awful living conditions, are now suffering from the lack of services.

Talking with the drivers in the terminal, they speak of their stories and the current situation. A driver said, “Drivers are no longer on strike, but the terminal is just silent as it was during the strike. Trucks are parked in the terminal and there is no movement.”

“I came to work in this terminal more than 20 years ago. Back then, the pay for delivering cargo from here to the capital Tehran was 700,000 rials. With this income, I could manage my debts, my daily expenditures, truck service fees and also I could save some money. Now, the price of cargo delivery is 30,000,000 rials. However, at the end of any service, I find myself in debt and I have no money in my pocket!” another driver said. He also described the situation of cargo delivering at the terminal, “Previously, the announcement of cargos was being started at 14:30 until 17:00, but now it ends at 15:30. This shows the decrease of the import of cargos at the harbour.”

Moreover, the truck drivers are facing corruption of terminal authorities. The government-affiliated authorities of the terminal work based on bribes they received and if not paid, they impose more fees on drivers.

During the past seven months, and despite many truckers’ strikes and protests, nothing has changed in terminals regulation and procedures.

Truck drivers have gone on strike five rounds in 2018. They demanded the end of corruption in terminals taking place by the Iran’s authorities but to no avail.

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