Another dock in Iskenderun Port, which was damaged in the earthquake, was opened to ship traffic.

In his written statement, Uraloğlu reminded that the earthquake, which was described as the “disaster of the century” and deeply affected Turkey, affected 11 cities.

Stating that the Ministry teams made damage assessments at the coastal facilities after the disaster, Uraloğlu said, “Serious damages were detected at the docks of Limak and Gübretaş İskenderun ports. With the dynamism of our private sector and our Ministry providing the necessary support, operations at our coastal facilities were started according to plan, 48 hours after the earthquake.” made his assessment.

Stating that another dock was opened to ship traffic in Iskenderun Port, Uraloğlu noted that the recovery process has begun by increasing handling and capacity in the ports in the district.

Minister Uraloğlu said, “After the earthquake disaster, the amount of cargo handled so far has reached 2.6 million tons and the amount of containers has reached 250 thousand TEU, while the total amount of cargo handled in the Gulf of Iskenderun has reached 52 million tons.” shared his knowledge.

“Iskenderun Port regained its former strength”

Uraloğlu stated that the fire that occurred in İskenderun Limak Port was taken under control in a short time with the intervention from sea, land and air under the coordination of the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, and added:

“Iskenderun Port quickly regained its former strength with rehabilitation works. On April 8, the first commercial container ship docked at Iskenderun Port, which repaired its heavy damage for handling, just 2 months after the earthquake. The second berth of Iskenderun Port started to serve on May 29. “In October, repairs were completed on the docks and handling equipment where containers over 300 meters can dock, and a 335-meter-long container ship was successfully and safely handled at the Port of Iskenderun. The last damaged dock of the port will be repaired and will begin to serve in December.”

Uraloğlu stated that a total of 45 million 847 thousand 22 tons of cargo and 444 thousand 199 TEU containers were handled at the İskenderun Regional Port Authority Administrative Port Facilities between February 6 and October 31.

Stating that although the port was severely damaged in the earthquake and started its routine activities in the middle of the year, it recovered very quickly and in a short time and started to serve the regional industry, especially with container handling activities, Uraloğlu said:

“These values ​​show only a 7 percent decrease (49.22 million tons in the same period in 2022) despite the earthquake, compared to the same period last year, and it is expected to approach last year’s values ​​by the end of the year. Between 6 February and 31 October, Limak will be at Iskenderun Port “2 million 573 thousand 118 tons of cargo and 246 thousand 391 TEU containers were handled.”