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General
Turkey has five major ports namely Samsun, Istanbul, Iskenderun, Izmir (Smyrna) and Toros.
Samsun is the major port for the central part of the Black Sea coast. The port serves export and import cargoes and transit traffic to Iran in addition to Ro-Ro lines between Turkey and Ukraine/Russia. It has an ideal location both for trade with countries, having a coast on the Black Sea, and for the potential cargoes which will arise due to Black Sea Economic Cooperation Region (BSECR) Project.
Istanbul
North Western Turkey is divided by a complex waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea. The channel passing between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara is called the Bosporus (Istanbul Bogazi). Istanbul is positioned at the south end of the Bosporus.
The Port of Istanbul is open and exposed to winds. However, due to the lack of extreme winds and relatively short fetch exposure, it experiences only minimal problems. The strong currents in the Bosporus could also be hazardous.
The following three ports are located in the Mediterranean Sea:
Iskenderun serves the Southeast, East Anatolian regions as well as transit to the Middle East countries. The port is connected to the national railway system. Dangerous cargo is discharged into lighters and stored in special areas. The port does not have specific container equipment. See UNJLC/WFP port assessment
Izmir is Turkey’s third largest port and has the best natural harbor. Many ships can load/unload simultaneously, but Izmir is primarily a discharge port for tankers. The port is divided into several sections: outer harbor, middle harbor and inner harbor, and an explosives anchorage.
Toros Marine Terminal, a multipurpose deep water marine terminal located at Ceyhan in Iskanderun Bay on the eastern Mediterranean, is internationally competitive in efficiency and capacity. As Turkeys largest dry bulk port, the Marine Terminal gives port, storage and bagging services for coal, petroleum coke, clinker, pumice stone, fertilizer, grains and feed-grains, edible oil and petroleum products.
For operational information on Turkey ports see Mesteel or Cerrahogullari or Portfocus
