Geopolitical tensions across key maritime choke points continue to cloud global shipping schedules and inflate freight costs. Amid this widespread industry uncertainty, Turkey’s port infrastructure wrapped up the first half of the year with resilient cargo and container volumes, underscoring its role as a stable regional transit hub.
Official data for the January-June 2026 period highlights the operational resilience of Turkish ports against severe global supply chain disruptions. Total cargo throughput rose by 1.5% year-on-year to reach 279.1 million tons, while container volumes posted a modest 1.3% gain, touching 7.02 million TEUs.
Commenting on the mid-year performance, Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu tied the steady figures directly to the volatile international environment. "Despite the geopolitical tension in the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainties in global maritime trade, Turkish ports continued their growth in the first half of the year," Uraloğlu noted.
On a regional scale, the industrial hubs of Kocaeli, Aliağa, and İskenderun led in total tonnage handled during June. The data also maps Turkey's current trade interdependencies, with Italy, the US, and Egypt emerging as the top maritime export destinations for the month, while Russia remained the leading source for inbound port shipments.