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• Logistics Co-ordination Forum: Amman
• Transport Corridors
• Bandar Khomeini
• Customs and Transit Goods
• Road Transport
• Land Border Crossing Points
• Shalamche
• Koshravi/Al-Munthiriya
• Aviation
• UNHAS Resumes
• Increasing Services
• Immigration
• Fuels
• Fuel Availability
• The Weather: A Pleasant Change
• Imports
• Distribution
• Kerosene

Logistics Co-ordination Forum: Amman

UNJLC intends to convene the second session of the Logistics Co-ordination Forum in Amman during October.

The forum is an informal grouping of those responsible for logistics matters within the respective UN agencies and international organisations. The intent is to enable participants to share information and perspectives on logistical challenges concerning Iraq so that lessons may be learned from each other and more effective common approaches, if appropriate, identified.

Those interested in attending the forum, including the logistics officers of major NGOs, are invited to contact pall.hermannsson@wfp.org.

There is no perceived need for such a forum in Kuwait at present but if such a need arises, it would be possible to hold one later in October.

Transport Corridors

Following a UNJLC mission to Teheran, the major Iranian port in the Northern Gulf, and several land border crossing points into Iraq, this section of the current bulletin will focus on the greatly underutilised Iranian corridor into Iraq, particularly through the port of Bandar Khomeini.

The Southern corridor (generally via Umm Qasr) was covered in UNJLC Bulletins 1 of June 18th, 2004 and  6 of August 25th, 2004. It will be further addressed in the forthcoming Bulletin 9 in October.

The Turkish corridor, covering mainly trade through Silopi/Zakho, was discussed in UNJLC Bulletin 5 (August 13th, 2004); the Syrian corridor, including transit through Lebanese ports, was addressed in UNJLC Bulletin 3 of 2004 (July 16th, 2004); Jordan, dealing mainly with the port of Aqaba and the Jordan land borders at Trebil/Karama, was covered in Bulletin 2 of July 2nd, 2004.

UNJLC will cover also the route through Saudi Arabia as a contingency corridor in a later bulletin. As for Iran, this is not a major corridor at present but may be useful if the deteriorating security situation closes off other avenues.

Bandar Khomeini

The port of Bandar Khomeini, accessible from the Arabian Gulf (referred to in Iran as the Persian Gulf), together with the Shalamche land border crossing point into Iraq, is a greatly underutilised corridor for transportation into Iraq. Compared to the Syrian ports of Lattakia and Tartous, and Jordan's port of Aqaba - all of which have had in the past to deal with congestion problems, delayed vessels and congestion surcharges for containerised cargo to one extent or another because of increased trade into Iraq - there is relatively little transit trade through Bandar Khomeini.

The port of Bandar Khomeini itself lies only 155 km by road from Basra, 20 kilometres less than Kuwait's main port of Shuwaikh. The infrastructure is excellent with two ship-to-shore gantry cranes operational and two more on order, together with two transtainers and four more on order. The container yard is well laid out.  Bandar Khomeini is served by regular calls by both Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and Simatech. The main commodities handled are steel and bulk grain.

It is clear that the port is functioning well below capacity and can cope with much more traffic than at present.

Customs and Transit Goods

During the UNJLC mission, officials in both the port authority and Customs administration at Bandar Khomeini expressed interest in handling Iraqi transit traffic and undertook to do whatever they can to expedite transit.

In order for transit goods to be allowed to pass through Iran, the requisite documents have to be sent to the Head Office of the Customs Administration in Teheran prior to the ship's arrival to obtain a transit permit. A bond generally has to be paid. For UN goods in transit, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be approached. They in turn will notify the Customs authorities in Bandar Khomeini. It is understood that the process should take no more than two working days if all the papers are in order. This argues in favour of using a good local agent and a forwarder experienced in moving cargos into or through Iran.

Road Transport

Despite excellent roads in the region near Bandar Khomeini (and indeed in many other parts of Iran), the maximum permitted load for trucks is a relatively low 25 tonnes. However, permits can be obtained for heavier loads and overwidth loads can be transported under escort at certain times, as considered appropriate by the authorities.

The Iranian Government has supported the trucking industry in the renewal of the fleet. Most trucks are relatively new and seem to be built for heavy traffic with 24" wheels and steel-only suspension. The fleet is mostly operated by owner-drivers with agencies handling traffic bookings. Many goods transit Iran to the landlocked countries on its northern borders. At times, when there is a large amount of this transit traffic, or during local harvests, there can be a serious shortage of trucks.

Land Border Crossing Points

As part of the mission to Iran, UNJLC visited Iran's two major border crossing points with Iraq, Shalamche, 125 km from Bandar Khomeini and on the route to Basra, 30 km beyond; and Koshravi, 755 kilometres from Bandar Khomeini and about 160 km north-east of Baghdad.

Clearly, Shalamche is ideal for servicing Basra and the lower south and Koshravi may be used to service Baghdad and the central areas of Iraq, avoiding the risk of ambush or disruption on the roads between Basra and Baghdad.

Shalamche

Shalamche is used mainly by Iranian traders selling agricultural produce and building materials into Iraq. The main commodities trafficked are onions and potatoes as well as cement and tiles. An estimated 200 to 300 trucks cross into Iraq each day with cargos transloaded onto Iraqi trucks immediately inside the borders. Iranian trucks do not operate inside Iraq. The terms of trade seem to be free border passage as the trader on the Iraqi side is responsible for Customs clearance and onward carriage.

Iranian officials expressed frustration that the Iraqi Customs on the other side were unpredictable and the border could be closed without notice. It was impossible for them to know when the Iraqi border might be open.

On the Iranian side, land has been prepared for transloading inside the borders. It is unclear whether this is intended in the future for Iraqi trucks coming into Iran to collect goods for export into Iraq, or for the delivery of Iraqi exports into Iran. In any event, cross-border trade appears to be healthy and growing.

Shalamche is also a crossing point for individuals who generally arrive in buses or cars on the Iranian side and after completing Iranian emigration formalities walk across the borders to the Iraqi side, where they then board other buses, or take taxis. The facilities are rudimentary with only sun shelters and benches. According to officials at the crossing point, apart from traders, about 200 to 300 individual cross each day, mostly families travelling together.

Koshravi/Al-Munthiriya

The 755 km of road connecting Bandar Khomeini to Koshravi (pronounced Koshrawi in Iraq) is generally very good, with a dual carriageway for much of it. The road is well signposted, particularly with the distance to Kerbala, the Shi'ite holy city in Iraq. The Iraqi side of the border is known as Al-Munthiriya.

The border station itself is well-served by a large nine-year-old modern passenger terminal, equipped to handle thousands of pilgrims. At present, there is little pilgrim traffic. The borders seem to be used mainly by Iraqi families visiting Iran. Officials advise that a modest 200 to 300 individuals pass through the borders every day on foot.

The number of trucks with general cargo into Iraq has fallen considerably in recent months by about 50% to an average of only 30 to 40 trucks each day. The cargo is generally local agricultural produce, cement and tiles.

All general cargo trucks have their loads transferred to Iraqi trucks just inside the borders, with space for only three trucks at any one time. The vehicles pass through in batches. Trucks are not allowed through until transloading of the preceding batch has been completed.

The situation on the Iraqi side of the border is reported to be so unstable at present that Iraqi forwarders are not, for the time being, offering a service whereby goods are collected for transportation to Baghdad, 160 km away, or to Sulaymania, 270 km to the north of Khosravi.

The Khosravi border is also used for the exporting gasoline and LPG into Iraq, despite a shortage of gasoline in Iran. According to a clearing agent, about 20 LPG tankers and 20 fuel tankers cross the borders each day. The gasoline is said to come from Russia and Turkmenistan but this could not be confirmed and seems unlikely given the distances involved. The fuel and gas trucks are the only vehicles allowed to pass through the borders into Iraq and are said to discharge relatively nearby inside Iraq.

In view of the need for transloading and the limited space at the border, Khosravi's cargo capacity is very limited. Iranian forwarders recommend that when the situation in Iraq improves and their Iraqi counterparts are able to offer services, shippers use their own containers so that cargos may go to their destination sealed. A crane will have to be made available at the border for transloading of containers. The use of a shipper's own container into Iraq is common as 12% more containers are discharged from vessels in Iraqi ports than are loaded onto ships, with a slightly lower ration of non-returned containers in Aqaba.

Unlike the situation at the Turkish borders, there is little private trade, at least through the official borders. Sources suggest that young Iranians resident in the border areas run smuggling operations through the almost uncontrollable mountain passes along the border, using pack animals. The main imports into Iran are said to be alcohol and satellite receivers. Recent information suggests that weapons for private use are also being smuggled into Iran. The return loads into Iraq are said to be drugs from Afghanistan.

Aviation

UNHAS Resumes

UN Humanitarian Air Services will resume operations in October from Marka Airport in Amman with an F-60 aircraft provided by The Netherlands. This aircraft will be available for one month. Aircraft from other West European nations are expected to be available through to the end of March 2005. At present, UNHAS is not scheduled to fly into Iraq.

Increasing Services

Cargo and passenger capacity into Iraq continues to improve with the resumption of several flights per week by Iraqi Airways from Baghdad to Amman and Damascus. Scheduled services into Iraq identified by UNJLC, are:

Further details of the above services and contact details are available in earlier UNJLC bulletins.

SkyLink continues, to the best of UNJLC's knowledge, to be the only operator providing regular commercial services from Kuwait into Iraq, although charters do operate from Kuwait International Airport and from the United Arab Emirates.

The International Committee of the Red Cross also operates two small aircraft from Amman into Iraq.

Air transportation into Iraq for suitable cargo may be a viable and cost competitive option considering the expense of security escorts and risks associated with overland transport in certain areas.

Reports from northern Iraq suggest that Kurdish companies are acquiring aircraft and that airports are being improved so that air services may be offered direct from the region to European cities, Turkey, and other destinations.

Immigration

The contact telephone numbers for Iraqi embassies and consulates where visitors' visas for Iraq may be obtained are, according to Iraqi consular officials, as follows:

Recent difficulties with NGO and International Organization personnel entering Iraq seem to have been solved. It now appears adequate for NGO workers wishing to enter Iraq to provide two copies of a letter, on printed letterhead of their organisation, at the point of entry. A visa will then be issued gratis. The letter should include the date and place of birth, gender, passport number, issue date, place of issue and expiry date, and permanent place of residence of the applicant, a description of their organization, the location and nature of their work in Iraq, contact details of the individual's organization in Iraq, and the expected duration of the stay. It does not yet seem necessary for the letter to be in Arabic. The applicant's passport would usually need to be valid for at least six months beyond the date of entry. It is unclear for how long the visa is issued for but it would normally be for one month and it seems to be possible to extend it inside Iraq. UNJLC is unaware of any sanctions on exit of people who have "overstayed" their visa.

Iraqi diplomatic missions may be unaware of this new facility but it has been proved to work on numerous occasions over recent weeks. Non NGO and IO and other non-UN personnel may still have to obtain visit visas in the usual way. The visa application form is available from the respective Iraqi embassies listed above, or electronically from www.unjlc.org/content/index.phtml/itemId/21894. If using the downloaded version, the two pages of which it comprises should be photocopied back-to-back before completion so that it is on a single sheet of paper, similar to the forms available from the embassies.

People wishing to enter Iraq should be aware that these are interim measures and that regulations can change without notice.

Fuels

Fuel Availability

Shortage of fuels throughout the country continues, even in those northern governorates such as Sulaymania and Kirkuk where supplies have historically been good.

Sulaymania is usually supplied from Turkey with imports of both gasoline and diesel, but it appears that the security situation in Mosul, through which most the imports must pass, is interrupting the supply. Sulaymania alone requires in the order of 1100 cubic metres of gasoline and 1000 cubic metres of diesel each day, the equivalent of more than 110 large road fuel tankers. Officials in the city report that they have received only one-tenth of the required quantities. Motorists are being obliged to wait for up to four or five hours at petrol stations in order to refuel.

Shortages have been particularly acute over the past two to three months in the governorates of Diyala, with the conflict city of Baqouba, and Salheldeen, with Samarra and Tikrit. In these locations, it is estimated that no more than 40% of requirements are supplied.

Anbar governorate, which includes the conflict town of Ramadi, is thought to have slightly better supplies at about 50% of needs, in part because of its proximity to the Daura refinery in Baghdad and in part because it lies on the main supply route into Iraq from Jordan.

The situation in the holy city of Najaf, which saw intense conflict over the summer, does appear to have improved as calm has been restored. However, the situation remains uncertain and supplies are still far from adequate.

Surprisingly, the Governorates of Babil and Qadisiya, with the provincial capitals of Hilla and Diwaniya respectively, have suffered from lack of supplies. With one of the country's major depots located in Diwaniya, this is hard to explain, unless supplies from refinery production and imports are not reaching the depots. Clearly, there are still major problems with internal distribution.

Nevertheless, shortages do persist in the major population centres of Baghdad and Basra. Despite a system being enforced in Baghdad whereby vehicles with even-numbered licence plates may refuel on alternate days to those with odd-numbered plates, it is normal to have to queue for up to an hour, often more, to buy a tank of fuel. The increasing number of cars on the road has also greatly added to demand, not to mention pollution in the larger cities.

The fuels situation in Basra continues to be greatly exacerbated by smuggling to countries abroad, including Iran which is itself experiencing a gasoline shortage (see UNJLC Bulletin 7 of 10th September 2004 for details). Large volumes of the diesel production from the Basra refinery are thought to be diverted after leaving the refinery. However, the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force is becoming more effective and is reported to be making arrests. The situation will not be solved in its entirety until fuels prices in Iraq rise to a level where the smuggling is no longer economic.

Gasoline supplies in Basra are, however, assisted by the proximity of regular imports from Kuwait.

The Weather: A Pleasant Change

One major factor that has assisted the fuels supply situation is recent weeks, nationwide, is the easing of summer and the mild weather of autumn. There is no longer a need for domestic airconditioning run with gasoline for household generators, or diesel with large neighbourhood generators. The load on the national grid for airconditioning has also eased and generating capacity is improving. Concurrently, it is not yet cold enough for there to be high demand for kerosene for heating.

Imports

Iraq's own State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO, an arm of the Ministry of Oil), is now thought to have full control over all fuels imports into Iraq. Imports are being obtained from a diverse variety of sources from virtually all neighbouring countries and appear to be well planned.

It is unclear what the situation is with LPG imports but they are believed to be in progress although still not adequate.

Much of the imports, however, are offloaded at depots as near as possible to the point of import. Unlike general or containerised cargo, is it generally impracticable to transload cargos of fuel at or near a border onto an Iraqi fuel tanker. The tanker that brings the cargo into the country must generally carry it to the depot. As such, areas near the borders or on import routes tend to be better served for fuels than locations further inland.

Distribution

Despite the best efforts of the Ministry of Oil, control over the distribution of fuel products remains less effective than it could be. It is widely known that operators and employees of both the government-owned and private fuel stations are diverting supplies provided at subsidised prices for sale on the black market  for their personal profit.

Ministry inspectors are not universally effective and are often threatened for their efforts.

The security situation whereby tanker drivers are attacked and pipelines sabotaged continues to disrupt distribution. Most internal transportation of fuels inside Iraq is undertaken by Iraqi tankers and drivers, or by convoys under military escort.

Kerosene

Kerosene is likely to arise as an issue in the coming months with the onset of winter. Iraq usually establishes large stockpiles of kerosene during the summer when demand is at its lowest but it is unclear whether it has been able to do so this year. In the winter of 2003/04, sufficient kerosene was available only because of massive imports by the Coalition.

Already, high black market prices for kerosene - equivalent to those usually seen in mid-winter - are emerging in the upper south governorates, perhaps as the populace endeavours to build up their own reserves of kerosene in advance of the expected price rises and shortages.