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After extremist militants claimed control of almost all of Syria's border points with neighboring countries, the country started relying on its seaports as a main conduit for import and export amid assurances that Syrian seaports are fully prepared and capable for trade movement.
Over the span of the four-year-old conflict, the Syrian government lost almost all of the border crossings with neighboring countries to the rebels, and is left with only two crossings with Lebanon.
Islamic State (IS) militants seized control of the al-Tanf, also known as al-Walid, border-crossing, the last border point between Syria and Iraq May 21. Last month, Syrian forces also lost the Nasib border crossing with Jordan to the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
Mazen Nseir, chief executive officer of the international container terminal of the Latakia city seaport, told Xinhua that the closure of the Nasib border crossing with Jordan, one of the most important points for import and export, caused an increase in the volume of the seaport exports by eight percent within one month only.
"Last month, we had an extra 1,000 containers for export as a result of the border crossing closure," he said.
"We are ready in case of any closure of any border point because we are a crucial point for receiving goods by sea. We are a critical border point and we are fully prepared with our staff and equipment to import and export goods," Nseir added.
However, he noted that Western sanctions and restrictions imposed on Syria have negatively affected maritime trade movement in Syria since the start of the crisis.
"Regarding the seaports, the decline and increase of productivity is related to foreign sanctions and restrictions on Syria and such decisions caused a decline in the number of expected imported or exported containers," he remarked.
He said the crisis and sanctions have affected the number of containers, which witnessed a decline by 60 or 70 percent in 2013. However, he added that the number of containers started increasing by 33 percent in 2014, noting that the situation is stable now.
He added the main Latakia seaport in Syria, has injected 26.48 million U.S. dollars in revenues into the state treasury in 2014, adding that the port received over 88,000 containers in the first half of 2015.
Improvement in maritime transportation came due to merchants' reliance on seaport export and import from friendly countries because maritime transportation is safer. It was also to avoid restrictions imposed by Western countries which contributed in an increase in exports by around 33 percent in 2014, according to Nseir.
He said that currently there is a study being conducted to expand and upgrade the Latakia seaport, and to deepen the wharves to be able to receive giant vessels, all part of efforts to support cargo traffic at the port.
Nseir also added that some parts of the port are also going to be renovated.
Meanwhile, Hussam Ali Doumani, director of maritime transport affairs at the Ministry of Transportation, told Xinhua that the Latakia seaport is capable of handling 10,000 tons of goods annually, adding moreover, that the seaport of Tartus city is capable of handling 16,000 tons of goods annually.
He also stressed the readiness of the seaport following the closure of the border points, saying "our seaports are ready even with the closure of border points. We have large container terminals in Latakia and Tartus city."
"Now most of the import and export is being conducted through seaports," he said, adding that the ministry is undertaking a number of measures to encourage the sea trade movement.
"We have tariffs competitive with other seaports in neighboring countries. We are also working on forming central labs at the seaports to analyze samples of imported or exported goods," he said, adding that the labs are located in other provinces, which might delay sea trade.
"We are working to create labs to analyze the samples at the ports because currently the samples are sent to labs in Damascus," he continued.
Doumani said that upgrading and expanding the seaport is being discussed with a Russian company, likely to carry out the upgrade. However, he noted that no timeframe exists for the expansion work until a final agreement is reached with the Russian contractor.
Muhannad Muhrez, a Syrian merchant specialized in importing electronics, told Xinhua that he placed an order to import electronics through the Nasib border crossing, adding that after the downfall of the crossing, he ordered his goods to be sent by sea to the Latakia seaport.
He said expenses of importing via sea will be less than the land border point because he can currently order bigger containers.
Muhrez, however, noted that maritime trade may be bad for those importing fruits because it takes longer than the regular land route. Enditem
