Izmir News

Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the U.S., Iranian state media reported, a move likely to stoke regional tensions.The seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes."After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ...

Turkey said on Friday it had sent a ship loaded with field hospital equipment, ambulances and generators to Egypt to treat war casualties from Gaza, where Israeli's devastating siege has caused a humanitarian crisis with medical care collapsing."A total of 51 containers of medical supplies, generators and 20 ambulances, with necessary permissions, were loaded onto a ship from Izmir's Alsancak port and sent to Egypt," Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said."As part of the aid…

Italy has arrested three people who they believe trafficked up to 200 migrants aboard a wooden boat that smashed apart on rocks off southern Italy on Sunday, killing at least 64 people, police said on Tuesday. Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Lippolis said a Turkish man and two Pakistani nationals had sailed the boat from Turkey to Italy despite the terrible weather, and were identified by survivors as "the main culprits of the tragedy"."According to initial investigations, they allegedly asked the migrants for about 8…

Rescuers recovered four more bodies on Monday, a day after a wooden sailboat carrying migrants to Europe smashed onto rocks in stormy weather off southern Italy, bringing the death toll to 63, including at least 14 children.Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from Iran, Somalia, Syria and elsewhere. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens were on the boat, with four missing and 16 survivors of the nighttime shipwreck.Many of the victims washed ashore close to where the vessel sank near Steccato di Cutro…

Late last month, a Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying corn pulled into the Turkish port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. The SV Nikolay had loaded the grain at Port Kavkaz, in Russia, six days earlier on June 18, according to documentation provided by an employee of the Russian company that owns the ship.A Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, ship-tracking data and open-source photos and videos yields a different port of origin for the SV Nikolay. On June 18, Reuters’ analysis of a satellite image indicates…

Business is booming at a sea dock in western Turkey, where five hulking cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal sales after the COVID-19 pandemic all but destroyed the industry, the head of a ship recyclers’ group said on Friday.Cruise ships were home to the some of the earliest clusters of COVID-19 as the pandemic spread globally early this year.In March, U.S. authorities issued a no-sail order for all cruise ships that remains in place.On Friday, dozens of workers stripped walls…

European providers of transportation and logistics services P&O Ferrymasters has announced plans to open five new offices across Turkey over the next two years as it continues the expansion of its pan-European logistics services into Asia.In addition to its existing base in Istanbul, P&O Ferrymasters will develop a comprehensive network across the strategically vital country by opening offices in Izmir on the Aegean coast, the capital city Ankara, Mersin on the south coast, Bursa in the Marmara region and Gaziantep near the border with Syria.Murat Bog, Freight Management Director at P&O Ferrymasters, said: “This expansion will further…

GriegMaas - a joint venture  of Norwegean shipping company Grieg Star with investment management firm Maas Capital - has expanded its fleet with the Ultramax vessel Star Damon.Formerly known as GH Frankel, the 2012-built Star Damon is bought this year from Celsius Shipping.The Ultramax vessel is 199 meter long, has a beam of 32 meter, and a draught at 13.3 meters. Star Damon will join the G2 Ocean conventional bulk pool.Meanwhile, the company has delivered its old open hatch vessel, the Star Fuji, for recycling."On the 21st of August we delivered the 34 year old Star Fuji for recycling. She landed at Leyal Ship Recycling in Aliağa, near Izmir in Turkey. That is the same recycling yard that recycled Star Gran in February," a release said.Star Fuji was an Open Hatch vessel of 40,850 mt dwt.

An explosion at an LPG tanker killed one Italian crew member and injured 15 others at the port of Aliaga in Turkey's western Izmir province late on Monday, petrochemicals maker Petkim said.The vessel was anchored at a harbour at the Petkim petrochemical plant operated by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR.Italian crew member Roberto Montegurdia died in the incident, Aliaga province's sub-Governor Erhan Gunay told reporters."At Petkim Pier 5 around 23:20 (2020 GMT), a fire broke out due to an unspecified reason during the connection to the Italian flagged Synzania for the filling of liquid hydrocarbons," Petkim said in a press statement."As a result of the immediate intervention of our teams…

Izmir Shipyard and ONO Group, a company in thermoplastics processing in South Korea, sign a sales and distribution agreement in Seoul. Effectively ONO Group is the new distributor of Izmir Shipyard boats in South Korea, Japan and China markets.As a part of this agreement, ONO Group obtains the license for building Izmir Shipyard’s IZ and Sea ViZion series boats, which are to be manufactured in Korea through a know-how and technology transfer procedure. According to the agreement…

German-based cargo container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG is launching a new liner service offering a direct connection between Turkey and the US East Coast.The Turkey North America East Coast (TNE) service will operate every nine days between the Turkish seaport of Marmara (Izmit, Istanbul and Gemlik) and the US ports of New York, Norfolk and Savannah, said a press release from the world's fifth largest container carrier in terms of vessel capacity.In addition, the service will also offer an excellent connection between Turkey and the US East Coast and the Egyptian port of Alexandria.The port of Algeciras in southern Spain will serve as the transshipment hub for cargo.

Arkas Bunkering have signed a protocol with Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation for the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as bunker fuel in Turkish and nearby seas. As environmentally-friendly buildings, vessels and fuels have become more popular than ever, new applications acting as reminders for both states and civil initiatives of their environmental responsibilities continue to emerge. With International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) global sulphur cap set to enter into force in 2020, the maximum amount of sulphur allowed to be contained in bunker fuel will be reduced worldwide. In this regard, Arkas Bunkering, Turkey’s top bunker supplier for three consecutive years according to Energy Market Regulatory Authority data…

A Turkish energy exploration ship will continue to operate in the Mediterranean Sea, the energy minister said on Friday, after Ankara said the navy stopped a Greek frigate from harassing the ship due to territorial disputes.Turkey, Greece and Cyprus's internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government have long disputed their overlapping claims of jurisdiction for offshore oil and gas research in the Mediterranean."Turkish Petroleum's exploration ship will continue its activities in line with Turkey's rights," Energy Minister Fatih Donmez told reporters in the western coastal province of Izmir, referring to the state-owned oil company.Turkey's foreign ministry said on Thursday that the navy had stopped a Greek frigate from harassing the Turkish Petroleum ship in the Mediterranean Sea, cal

APM Terminals have reached agreement to divest its container terminal in Izmir, Turkey to its current partner SOCAR.As part of the sales agreement, APM Terminals will continue managing the terminal, ensuring that needs from both shipping lines and landside customers are catered for, said a press release from the company.The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to finalize in the coming months. In the new structure, operating company Petlim will be fully owned by SOCAR Turkey, and managed by APM Terminals.The terminal, to be named Petlim Container Terminal, located in Aliağa, is the largest container terminal in Turkey’s Aegean region with a capacity of 1.3 million TEU per year.Over the last two years…

Classification society ClassNK said it has opened two new exclusive survey offices in Turkey with operations beginning January 1, 2017.   The offices are located in the Turkish port cities Izmir and Mersin, which both have “Free Zone” in each area.   According to ClassNK, the opening of the latest offices aims to improve the efficiency of its ship surveys and audits along the southwestern part of Turkey, as the classification society has in recent years reported an increasing number of surveys and audits required in the region.

Shipping group CMA CGM has announced the new service offer TURAF EXPRESS which directly links Turkey, Tunisia and Libya via Malta. It is the first CMA CGM line to offer a direct connection between Northern Turkey (Istanbul, Gemlik and Aliaga) and the main Libyan ports (Misurata and El Khoms) in order to develop short sea lines intra-Mediterranean activities. Thanks to the call in Malta, a CMA CGM‘s hub, transshipment connections are offered towards worldwide markets with other group’s services. The TURAF EXPRESS service offers best transit times on the market from Turkey to Tunisia and Libya, a strong asset particularly designed for the transportation of refrigerated goods. Misurata and Sousse are connected from Izmir in 5 and 11 days.

Turkey has raised the fines for marine pollution by 41 percent, Daily Sabah reported quoting the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication. The Ministry  has  also implemented stricter regulations after a ship hit rocks and spilled 50 tons of fuel in western Turkey. The ministry's decision follows the incident involving Lady Tuna, a ship which hit rocks on December 18, 2016 and was responsible for spilling 50 tons of fuel near the Fener island of Turkey's western Izmir province and has been fined 5 million Turkish liras ($1.37 million). The nearby beaches of Paşa Limanı and Ilıca Yıldız Burnu had been polluted by the accident and the cleaning the coast had taken days. The new regulations increase the fines by 41 percent.

A ship recycling facility in Izmir, Turkey, ISIKSAN SHIP RECYCLING and TRADING Co. Ltd., has been issued a Statement of Compliance (SoC) from classification society ClassNK verifying that the facilities are in line with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (HKC). Although the HKC has yet to enter into force, ISIKSAN has carried out substantial improvements to its facility in a bid toward safer and greener ship recycling…

Leading classification society ClassNK  has issued a Statement of Compliance (SoC) to a ship recycling facility in Izmir, Turkey, ISIKSAN SHIP RECYCLING and TRADING, verifying that the facilities are in line with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (HKC). Although the HKC has yet to enter into force, ISIKSAN has carried out substantial improvements to its facility in a bid toward safer and greener ship recycling as well as developed the Ship Recycling Facility Plan (SRFP) required for a competent authority’s certification according to the HKC. ClassNK reviewed the SRFP prepared by ISIKSAN…

In line with its strategy for the development of short lines in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the CMA CGM Group has rolled out the Black Sea Med Express service, which connects the major countries around the Black Sea (Turkey, Romania and Ukraine) to Algeria and Morocco. The service will be CMA CGM's first to offer a weekly connection between the main ports of the Black Sea and Aegean Sea with the North of Morocco (Tangier and Casablanca) and Algeria (Annaba) in order to develop the activity between The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea with short lines. Transit times are as follows: Constanta is connected to Casablanca (Morocco) in 16 days, Ambarli (Turkey) to Annaba (Algeria) in six days, Malta to Odessa (Ukraine) in four days and Izmir (Turkey) to Malta in two days.

Qatar Navigation (Milaha), the Doha-based maritime and logistics group, has launched a direct shipping service between Qatar and Turkey amid a regional diplomatic crisis that has cut Doha cut off from three of its closest neighbours. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over its alleged support for terrorism and Iran - charges Doha denies. The four countries have banned Qatari vessels from docking at their ports, as well as flights to and from Doha.

In order to improve our current service levels and provide customers in the region with the best solutions, ​ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd  introduced changes starting January 2018. Iskenderun port is added to TGX rotation: Thessaloniki cargo will now be served by our mainliner ZMP service, via Istanbul to Haifa, with a total transit time of 7 days and much improved schedule reliability. The change is implemented as part of ZIM’s strategy to create synergy with our mainliners through fast connections in Turkish ports. The new rotation is also aimed to overcome congestion problems in Thessaloniki and better serve the Greek market. The change is part of our ongoing efforts to expand our coverage in the region and improve overall service levels to customers.

Natalia A container ship that belongs to Turkish ARKAS shipping line is docked in Contship Ravenna – the Contship Italia Group gateway on the Adriatic Sea. The Natalia A is deployed on the ADS service (Adriatic Service) that connects Ravenna with Istanbul, Gemlik, Piraeus, Izmir, Beirut, Mersin, Aleksandria and Lattakia, on a weekly basis. “We are delighted to see that a shipping line such as Arkas has chosen the Ravenna Terminal as a partner to expand container traffic, offering fundamental connections with Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Greece and Syria” explain Giannantonio Mingozzi (President of the Terminal) and Riccardo Sabadini (President of Sapir).