​The 17th Marine   Industries Conference was held on December 22-25 in Kish Island, Iran. Among key participants in the event were First Vice President Is-Haq Jahangiri and Dr. Norouzzadeh, the chairman of the board of directors of IDRO. In addition to addressing the conference, Dr. Jahangiri paid a visit to some progressive development projects of the Island. These were Kish International Airport, Hendourabi Airport, Kish Power Plant, a trade port, a water treatment site being constructed in an area of 1,000 cubic meters (m3), a passenger terminal, , and a 1000m3 water tank. Also, Dr. Jahangiri attended a seminar on the role of free zones in the Resistance Economy, in which managers of free zones had participated. In the seminar, Dr. Jahangiri outlined the guidelines of the Resistance Economy depicted for the sixth five-year development plan of the country, announcing that development of coastlines and maritime industries is one of the axes of the plan. He highlighted the importance of free zones in actualizing the goals of the Resistance Economy, as well.On the sidelines of the seminar, 12 workshops and 8 technical forums were held. The most important technical forum was held on the first day of the seminar, in which Dr. Norouzzadeh, Mr. Salehinia, deputies for industry minister for industries, Ms. Farshchi, deputy for the department of environment, Mr. Raf’at, head of the Supreme Council for Maritime Industries. Dr. Seif, president of Kish maritime industries syndicate, was the session’s secretary. At the end of the session, questions and answers were exchanged between the plenary speakers and the audience. While acknowledging considerable investments in the industry sector, Dr. Norouzzadeh stressed that Iranian spare part manufacturers will be negatively influenced in the absence of designing and engineering centers. The IDRO Chairman added “Through employing the country’s engineering potential, we need to establish a mechanism to diminish end price and production time. With this mechanism in place, we can build a ship in the Iranian Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company (ISOICO) in three years (usual time required for building a ship) without wasting years of time. If the current situation persists, then, it would be natural that our customers such as National Iranian Tanker Company will eye on foreign markets to meet its needs.”  A highlight in Dr. Norouzzadeh’s remarks was his emphasis on financing domestic projects and letting domestic producers take over the domestic market. He gave the example of the Korean Hyundai, saying the company provides strong financial support for projects itself so as to back domestic producers. So, “we accept project financing and it would be much better if we give the money to domestic producers,” he added. Based on a simple calculation, Dr. Norouzzadeh noted, Iran will need as many as 400 logistic and cargo ships in the next four or five years. According to some estimations,this means a market of $7 billion. Therefore, it will be a good opportunity for domestic investors to focus on, the IDRO Chairman said. “When I was in the Parliament, we drafted the maritime industries law at the time of establishing the Supreme Council For Maritime Industries, but no one used the opportunity and capacity. Sometimes, adding a single word to a law can create many new capacities,”Dr. Norouzzadeh said in the meeting.At the end of his speech, Dr. Norouzzadeh expressed hope that with the support of First Vice President Is-Haq  Jahangiri, Supreme Council for Maritime Industries, and all other capacities, the country’s engineering clout in the maritime industry flourishes to prevent currency outflows. On the first day of the seminar, workshops on feasibility studies aboutfuel consumption and methods of reducing it and familiarity with the basics of designing jack-up rigs were held. Also, shipbuilding and regulation and standard committees held sessions.The 17th Marine   Industries Conference aimed to identify domestic and foreign investment opportunities in the maritime industry, provide a platform for the exchange of ideas on latest achievements in the field, and finally, display the country’ capabilities and achievements in the industry.Also, along with the conference, the 17th biannual exhibition of Kish was held, in which more than 165 companies and organizations, including 140 Iranian and 20 foreign, participated. On display in the exhibition were light boats, speedboats, cruisers, submarines, and Jamaran Frigate.