Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni - Port History

Port History

The port is located at the terminus of the Trans-Iranian Railway linking the Persian Gulf with Tehran and on to the Caspian Sea.

During World War II it consisted only of a jetty, two shipping berths, a railhead and warehouses and a civilian settlement some miles distant. The port was initially in German and Italian hands, but was stormed on August 25, 1941 by a combined British and Indian force supported by the Royal Navy. A flotiila led by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Kanimbla had sailed up the waterways and in the raid captured eight Axis vessels, two gunboats and the floating dock. It was at time that, among others, the German ship Hohenfels fell into British hands and became Empire Kamal.

Thereafter it was administered by the US Army 482nd Port Battalion and served as a critical supply point for Allied military aid for Russia. The port facilities were also used for merchant and military vessel layup and repair. Three additional berths were built during the war.

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