The government is investing heavily in the development of the port network, with the goal of making Türkiye a leading maritime hub in the region. Türkiye has a large and strategically important maritime area for the Black Sea, Western Europe, Middle East, and North Africa region, with its 8.333 km coastline providing direct sea connections to various countries belonging to the geographical and geopolitical areas. 

The role of ports in Türkiye is becoming increasingly important in integrating transport modes across the country, as well as connecting regional and international transport corridors from east to west and from north to south. For this reason, the port sector plays a vital role in the Turkish economy, especially in foreign trade. The distribution of the cargo handled in the ports according to the port authorities is as in Figure below; 

Figure 1- TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS MASTER PLAN - Ministry of transport and infrastructure 

As of 2022, the number of coastal facilities serving maritime trade (in the form of piers, buoys, dolphin, and platform) is 216, including Lake Van (Tatvan and Van ferry port). Of the said coastal facilities, 192 serve maritime transport actively. The ports are classified into three groups: governmental, municipal, and private ports. The first group, general-purpose governmental ports, are operated by State Economic Enterprises (the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) ports and the Turkish Maritime Organization (TDI) ports). The second group is municipal ports which are managed by the Municipalities. These ports are comparatively small and are generally limited to a small volume of coastal traffic serving the local needs of provincial towns. The third group is made up of special private ports. These ports are mostly confined in purpose to the particular needs of industrial plants but are allowed to be used by third parties too. 

In Türkiye, 81 of the said coastal facilities, which correspond to approximately 43%, are in the Marmara Region, 50 corresponding to 26% are in the Mediterranean Region, 31 corresponding to 16% are in the Black Sea Region and 28 corresponding to 15% are in the Aegean Region. 

With looking on a city basis, a total of 35 facilities that actively serve seaborne trade are in the city of Kocaeli. There are 17 facilities of different specifications and sizes in Istanbul, coming second followed by 20 in Hatay, and 18 in Izmir. 

Cargo handled at Turkish ports during 2022 increased by 16.3 million tons year-on-year and reached 542,610,283 tons. The 5.9% year-on-year increase in 2021 decreased to 3.1% in 2022. Port cargoes showed a significant increase in 2021 due to postponed demands as a result of the pandemic in 2019-2020. Demand stabilized and normal growth values were reached again by 2022. 

Port and seaway investments to be made in order to eliminate potential bottlenecks in these regions in the future should also intensify. In this context, infrastructure projects to develop ports and maritime network according to the Transport and Logistics Master Plan developed by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is given in the below Table. 

In addition to the infrastructure projects given in the table, the construction of the İyidere Logistics Port, which will be built within the scope of the İyidere Logistics Center planned to be built in Rize, has tarted. It is aimed that İyidere Logistics Port will be a logistics base that will make significant contributions to the regional and national economy. 

For information on Türkiye port contact details, please see the following link: 

4.4 Türkiye Port and Waterways Company Contact List