4 Turkish Ports Are Among the 13 Largest Ports in Europe

Despite the global economic crisis experienced during the pandemic process, 4 Turkish ports were among the 13 largest ports in Europe in terms of maximum load capacity in 2021. Turkish ports ranked 3rd in Europe.

According to the data of the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, there are 66 ports, large and small, operated by the public and private sectors on the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black Sea coasts in Turkey. Last year, a total of 526 million 306 thousand 784 tons of cargo capacity (handling) was realized at Turkish ports in domestic and foreign trade, most of which were foreign flagged ships. Management Consultant Fırat Yemeniciler, who has been a senior manager in port management for many years, said that Turkey has started to have a say in port management in Europe in recent years. Indicating that Turkey ranks third in Europe after the Netherlands and Spain, Yemeniciler said: "Turkey has surpassed England and Italy, which have a say in cargo handling in Europe. Turkey now has sufficient port infrastructure. In 20 years, although there is a slight growth in ports in Europe, there is an increase of 7-8 percent in Turkey. The handling capacity has increased by 2-2.5 times. The transportation of Iraqi and Azerbaijani oil from Turkish ports with transit cargo and transit containers is also effective in this. happened."

Saying that Kocaeli, Aliağa, İskenderun and Botaş ports are among the 13 ports with the highest cargo handling in Europe, 4 of the 13 ports with the highest cargo handling are from Turkey according to the 2021 evaluations, Yemeniciler continued as follows: Despite the adversities, Turkish ports ranked 6th, Aliağa 8th, İskenderun 11th and Botaş port 13th among the 13 largest ports in Europe. Aliağa port draws attention in terms of its load capacity. Although Botaş port decreased by 5.4 percent compared to the previous year, it reached a load capacity of 63 million 215 thousand tons in 2021. Kocaeli port increased by 6.3 percent to 81 million 335 thousand tons, Aliağa port grew by 7.2 percent and reached 73 million 890 thousand tons.

"We can move up to 2nd place"
Expressing that Turkish ports have a very important place on the world scale, Yemeniciler stated that Turkish ports are the 3rd largest country in Europe. Emphasizing that while France and Germany lagged behind in this ranking, Fırat Yemeniciler said, "As a country, in 2023, Turkey surpassed Spain and ranked 2nd after the Netherlands. I believe we will settle in. Starting from 2010, according to tonnage developments, Turkey's annual average combined growth (yearly growth rate consecutively) was 3.8 percent, while Spain grew by 2.1 percent and the UK shrank by 1.2 percent. While Turkish ports grew by 51 percent between 2010 and 2021, the growth in ports of other countries was only half or even one-fifth of us, while England shrank by 13 percent.