My greetings and appreciation to the Regional Center of
Oceanography for West Asia for organizing
and holding the Second International Conference on Oceanography for West
Asia.
Seas and oceans possess a special status for transport,
trades and national security of the relevant States, and this status is growing
in importance and significance. As a maritime nation, the Islamic Republic of
Iran is located in a strategic position adjacent to 3 bodies of water (namely
the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman), and the appropriate use of the
potentials provided by these bodies of water can play a significant role in the
economic development of this country.
Considering the necessity of promoting safety of navigation
in the waters under the Iranian jurisdiction, the growing trend of optimizing,
constructing and developing maritime structures, expanding maritime transport,
and striving for optimal utilization of the maritime resources of the country
in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hurmoz and the Caspian Sea, one
realizes the critical need for access to the relevant information and data on
maritime parameters.
As a major authority on the affairs related to seas and
coasts in this country and in order to fulfill its sovereign mission, the Ports
and Maritime Organization (PMO) has established maritime databases and resolved
engineering issues in the Iranian coasts, through conducting simulation and
monitoring studies on the Iranian coastal zones, completing the national
monitoring network for marine parameters, developing an Iranian maritime
dynamics software, and conducting periodical hydrography of the coasts and
ports of the country.
The simulation and monitoring studies on the Iranian coastal
zones, which have covered the entire 5,800 kilometers of this coastline in 7
phases, commenced some 2 decades ago in Chabahar Bay, and was later expanded to
the provinces of Bushehr, Sistan and Baluchistan, Hormozgan, Caspian Sea,
Makran Coasts and Khuzestan Province. This national project seeks objectives
like gathering and supplying hydrodynamic and morphologic information, considering
the challenges and shortcomings in the coastal areas and providing engineering
solutions, and creating a reliable source of information for use to study and
design offshore and coastal structures in the areas under study.
The output from this project has been used in promoting the
precision of the Integrated Coastal Zones Management (ICZM) Project, and
enriching the relevant national maritime databases.
As a major player in the Iranian maritime and coastal field,
and considering the importance of registering data on marine parameters such as
wave, current, sediments and water level, PMO has taken effective measures in
the past twenty years, through designing and operating the national monitoring
network for marine parameters, such as:
- Designing,
constructing and installing 11 hydrographic buoys on Iranian coasts;
- Positioning,
installing and operating 9 port meteorology stations; and
- Positioning,
installing and operating 13 advanced tidal stations in the southern ports of
the country (in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman) and 4 advanced stations in
the northern ports (in the Caspian Sea).
The Islamic Republic of Iran thus possesses the most
developed and comprehensive monitoring network for marine parameters in the
region, which will be complemented in the near future by the addition of new
equipment, such as wave radars.
The information recorded by the above equipment feeds into
vast applications, such as water fluctuations monitoring, water level change
recording, accurate prediction and analysis of water level, engineering
purposes, safe navigation, and management of ports and coasts, as well as
promoted precision of parameters and optimized design of maritime structures.
Furthermore, Grade 1 (Permanent) benchmarks have been
positioned, constructed and installed in the Iranian ports, in order to
harmonize the coordinates and altitude systems for hydrographic projects,
conduct maritime measurements and studies, measure water level changes
accurately, and conduct precise design and construction of maritime and port
structures. These benchmarks have been established and calibrated as grade 1,
according to the guideline for construction of base stations for tide
measurement operations, provided by the Iranian Cartography Organization.
Another prominent achievement of PMO in the past two decades
has been the design and development of the Iranian PMODynamics Software through
the efforts of domestic experts, in recognition of the importance of
mathematical simulations and their results in designing and making major
decisions for port and coastal engineering, and meeting the domestic demands
for marine parameters simulation software. The PMODynamics is able to simulate
tidal currents, wind currents in 2 and 3 dimensions, simulate coastal
sedimentation flow and morphology, analyze tides and extract tidal parameters.
So far, modules on dynamic management of vessel loading and navigation, vessel
monitoring, data quality control, and coastal engineering tools have been
developed and provided for interested users.
In the recent years, extensive and comprehensive
infrastructural measures have been taken in the country, in order to organize
hydrographic operations in the Iranian ports under the existing plans, and
promote the hydrographic performance in the ports and coasts of the country,
based on scientific methods and through the potentials of hydrographic advising
engineers, companies and equipment. Apart from operational purposes, such
measures have resulted in a suitable and accurate database for engineering studies,
precise determination of sedimentation regimes, and vessel traffic monitoring
systems.
Moreover, the economic importance of maritime transport, its
deep-seated connection to life in the society through access to services, and
the movement toward establishment of green ports have encouraged this
organization to conduct a project to
determine the priorities of using renewable energies in ports, and plan for
generating clean energies from natural forces.
Finally, PMO maintains and encourages scientific interaction
with experts and scholars in the field of maritime sciences through holding the
International Conference on Coasts, Ports and Marine Structures (ICOPMAS) every
two years. Furthermore, academic theses and research projects in line with the
scientific objectives of this organization receive PMO's financial and
intellectual support.
Once again, I appreciate the efforts for planning and
holding this conference, and hope to witness synergy and scientific promotion
in the field of oceanographic activities, through fruitful exchange of ideas
and interaction among experts and specialists in this arena.
Thank you