The Iranian government has awarded contracts worth 31 trillion rials ($40 million) to the country's military for manufacturing more than a dozen vessels needed in operations in the ports.

According to The Iran Project, The contracts were awarded on Tuesday during a ceremony attended by transportation minister Farzaneh Sadegh and senior military commanders.

Sadegh said the awarding of the contracts signaled a message to the world that Iran’s military forces were ready to sacrifice their resources for the welfare of the country despite foreign sanctions that have put them under pressure.

Companies linked to the Iranian army, the defense ministry and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will build 26 vessels for use in fire-fighting, towing and docking and undocking operations at Iranian ports, according to reports published in the local media.

CEO of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) Ali Akbar Safaei said in the ceremony that the IRGC has contributed actively to PMO’s development plans in recent years, adding that the force will supply 32 new vessels and other equipment to Iranian ports authorities in early February as part of contracts signed in the past.

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said that Iran has a long history of shipbuilding that dates back to the Achaemenid era.