Over sixty-two thousand vessels pass through Turkish straits

(MENAFN) The Turkish straits, comprising the Istanbul and Çanakkale waterways, saw approximately 62,736 vessels transit during the first nine months of the year, according to the country’s transport and infrastructure minister.

Abdulkadir Uraloğlu reported that 29,710 vessels passed through the Istanbul Strait, while 33,029 traversed the Çanakkale Strait between January and September. Of the total, 21,235 were general cargo ships, 11,437 were bulk carriers, and 7,959 were container ships, collectively amounting to 1.1 million gross tons.

During the same period, 47,631 vessels called at Turkish ports, with 30,854 flying foreign flags and 16,770 registered under the Turkish flag. The northwestern province of Kocaeli received the highest number of Turkish-flagged vessels at 1,967, followed by Cesme (1,374), Aliağa (1,331), and Ambarlı (1,231). Kocaeli also led in foreign-flagged arrivals with 4,946 vessels, followed by Aliağa (3,332), Iskenderun (2,654), and Mersin (2,430).

Uraloğlu emphasized that the figures underscore Turkey’s growing significance in global maritime trade. The country’s ports handled 457 million tons of cargo over the past ten months, with container traffic reaching 11.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Additionally, 1,278 cruise ships arrived at Turkish ports, carrying more than 2 million passengers, setting a new record.

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