Turkey Earthquake: The Aftermath

Turkey is located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and its Bosporus Strait in the middle serves as an important waterway for global shipping.

During the earthquake, the Port of Iskenderun, one of the major ports in Southern Turkey, was seriously affected and damaged. Some parts of the port collapsed and a huge fire broke out at the container yard. Which caused businesses and logistics companies to scramble to assess the potential trade fallout.

Affected Ports:

• Air Freight: Several major airports in Turkey have been impacted and damaged by the earthquake and are currently closed including:

• Hatay Airport

• Gaziantep International airport and

• Adana airport.

Ocean Freight:

• All port operation at Ceyhan Marine Terminal in Adana Province is currently suspended.

• Iskenderun port has reported structural damage and is closed.

• Mersin port has incurred no damage however the workforce is currently limited at the port and customs offices.

Many ocean carriers have closed their port operations in Iskenderun and Mersin and are utilizing offices in Istanbul to support ongoing operations with documentation and operation processes.

Experts have warned that the damage to Turkey and Syria's transportation infrastructure caused by the earthquake is set to cause further global shipping disruption and drive freight prices up.

The devastating quake that hit southern Turkey on 6 February damaged roads and bridges, shut down the port of Iskenderun, and caused air cargo congestion at many small airports in the affected region which were already struggling with backlogs caused by snowy weather even before the earthquake.

Shipping Company, Maersk released a statement stating that they had halted operations at the Port of Iskenderun, located on the Mediterranean coast, due to “significant damage”.

Maersk said, “The Port of Iskenderun remains inaccessible and not operational until further notice. This is both in the interest of safety due to significant terminal damage and indeed the focus of the terminal and its personnel being firmly on humanitarian aid efforts at this time. As such, it is still not yet known when a full inspection will take place to understand the extent of the damage and affected containers. We are working closely with Iskenderun officials every day and will keep customers informed of the latest developments as soon as we know more."

All our thoughts and deepest condolences to the victims in Turkey and Syria our hearts are with you.