The Iran Marine Industrial Company (Persian: شرکت صنعتی دریایی ایران), also known as SADRA, was founded in 1968 as a small ship repair yard in Bushehr. Since then, SADRA has established itself as the leading shipbuilding and ship repairing company in Iran.[1] SADRA is also active in offshore oil & gas development.[2] SADRA specializes in building ships, docks, and floating oil rigs.[3] Sadra Group is a sister company of Iran's state-owned Iran Shipbuilding and Offshores Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO).[4] As of April 2009, the IRGC-controlled construction conglomerate, Khatam al-Anbia owns a controlling stake in SADRA.[5]
History
In 2005, SADRA won a 100 million euro contract to build four cargo ships for German company Rickmers.[4]
In 2006, SADRA group won a $2.4 billion contract to build 10 LNG carriers for the Belgian shipping group EXMAR.[2]
In 2009, SADRA begun manufacturing four 113,000-metric-ton Aframax oil tankers for Venezuela.[citation needed]
In 2009, SADRA launched a domestically-built semi-floatable drilling rig for the Caspian Sea. The semi-submersible rig called 'Iran-Alborz' is the largest in the Middle East. The semi-floatable platform is able to operate at water depths up to 1,030 meters and can drill down to 6,000 meters under the seabed.[citation needed] Iran-Alborz is operated by Iran North Drilling Co.[6]
Iran Marine Industrial Company SADRA delivered the second Aframax oil ship on 12 June 2022 in a meeting between Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro after the documents were signed.[8]
Over the next two decades, Iran would need 500 new ships, including 120 oil tankers, 40 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, and over 300 commercial vessels.[9] In 2009, in a move aimed at further enhancing Iran's shipbuilding industry, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he will ban the purchase of foreign ships by Iranian organizations.[citation needed] The Ministry of Commerce has confirmed that Iran is able to build all its needed sea fleets inside the country.[10]