ISTANBUL

Türkiye entered the top 10 countries in maritime trade in 2025, with the Turkish-owned maritime fleet with a deadweight capacity of 53.1 million, Türkiye's transportation minister announced Thursday.

"We've elevated our country to the top 10 maritime nations ... Our Turkish-owned merchant marine fleet, with a capacity of 53.1 million deadweight tons, has risen from 11th to 10th in the world rankings," Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a meeting in Istanbul.

Uraloglu said that the fleet, which ranked 17th in 2002 with 8.9 million deadweight tonnage, reached 2,203 vessels in the first half of 2025, placing it in the top 10 in global maritime trade.

"This represents an approximately sixfold increase in deadweight tonnage compared to 2002. Türkiye now flies its flag even more strongly among leading maritime nations. This success has once again demonstrated the strength and determination of the Turkish maritime industry. Our goal now is to take this success even further," he said.

Noting that 88% of global freight transport was carried out by sea in 2024, Uraloglu said, adding: “Global maritime freight traffic increased by 2.4%, reaching 12.643 billion tons. In our country, 86% of foreign trade transport is carried out by sea. These figures once again demonstrate the strategic importance of maritime transport in international trade.”

He said that the amount of cargo handled at ports has increased by 180% and the amount of containers by 443% since 2002.

“In 2024, the amount of containers handled at our ports reached 13.529 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). Between January and August of this year, the amount of cargo handled at our ports increased by 3% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 366.799 million tons," Uraloglu noted.

He also emphasized that Türkiye has five ports in the global top 100 ports that handle the most containers.
Uraloglu underlined that this success was made possible by the determination of the sector, the ministry's visionary policies and the efforts of the seafarers.

"This success of our fleet is not only a ranking but also proof that Turkish maritime has become a powerhouse in the global arena," he added.