Tragic! The fire engulfed the entire container terminal! The shipping company issued an emergency notice
Source: admin Time: 2023-02-08
According to the latest news, the major earthquake in Turkey on the 6th has causedThe death toll soared to more than 5,100 and nearly 6,000 buildings were destroyed.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday declared 10 affected provinces in Turkey as disaster areas and imposed a three-month state of emergency in those areas.A terminal at the port of Iskenderun was nearly engulfed in flames and was still burning. Hundreds of containers caught fire, disrupting port operations and forcing freight liners to divert their ships to other ports.
Turkish maritime authorities said on Monday that the port on Turkey's southern Hatay province's Mediterranean coast was damaged by the earthquake. Drone footage showed fierce flames scorching hundreds of containers on the dock, with plumes of water from a fire truck dwarfing the scale of the blaze that broke out on Monday. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky. Turkish shipping agency Tribeca said on Tuesday that part of the cargo area of the Limak Port in the Iskenderun complex was still on fire and the terminal had closed all operations until further notice.
Shipping giant Maersk said on Tuesday that the logistics and transportation infrastructure around the epicenter of the earthquake was severely damaged, including the port of Iskenderun. The company said that it is seeking to transfer ships as needed, considering the "severe structural damage, which has led to a complete halt of all operations until further notice." In view of the current situation at the port of Iskenderun, Maersk said it will make operational adjustments to all ships heading to the port or planning to go to the port. Currently, Maersk is planning to transfer containers to nearby hub ports or stay at transshipment ports, including the ports of Mersin (Turkey) and Port Said (in Egypt).
Shipping giant Maersk added in an updated announcement on Tuesday that a fire broke out in containers at the terminal on Monday evening after the earthquake and the company is working to assess the potential loss of cargo, but the fire has not yet been brought under control by local authorities. "It is not yet clear how long the recovery work will take and when the port will be able to conduct a full inspection of the damage." The German container shipping companyHapag-LloydHapag Lloyd said it was receiving cargoes from Mersin in light of the closure of Iskenderun. A source at a container broker said:Judging from the flames and smoke, the fire most likely started from a container filled with flammable industrial oil.Other collapsed containers blocked emergency workers from entering. Authorities tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire by boat on Monday, and nearby damage from the quake also blocked access to the site. More than 1,200 buildings were destroyed by the quake in Hatay province alone.
Iskenderun is a base for heavy industry such as steel and is one of the two major container hub ports on Turkey's southeastern coast. According to shipping sources, the port focuses particularly on domestic trade in Turkey rather than playing a broader regional hub role. After inspecting the damage after the earthquake, maritime authorities said on Monday that ports outside Iskenderun were continuing operations. Turkey's Ceyhan port was ready to resume loading Iraqi crude from storage on Tuesday, but bad weather prevented ships from berthing, a trade source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
What impact will the strong earthquake in Türkiye have on world shipping?
Türkiye straddles the Eurasian continent, connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and is known as the "throat of the world." What impact will the earthquake in Türkiye, a global shipping fortress, have on the country and the world?
Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce Research Institute, pointed out: "The earthquake will affect Turkey's normal production and life. The impact on Turkey's industrial chain and supply chain will aggravate Turkey's currency depreciation and inflation." He also said that Turkey is located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and the Bosphorus Strait in the middle is an important waterway for world cargo transportation. The earthquake will undoubtedly bring more uncertainty to the normal navigation of the strait.
Bai Ming believes that in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Bosphorus Strait near Russia and Ukraine has the important function of transporting food and natural gas to Europe. The uncertainty faced by the passage of the strait may affect the price trend of bulk commodities and the stable operation of the international industrial chain and supply chain. Turkey is the main transit point for the export of grain from a certain Eastern European country and Ukraine. A certain Eastern European country and Ukraine signed relevant agreements with Turkey and the United Nations in Istanbul on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. Istanbul, Turkey has also established a joint coordination center to ensure the safety of food transportation, responsible for the joint management of relevant ships, and ensure that three Ukrainian ports including the Port of Odessa export food and fertilizers. Some analysts said that this earthquake may also affect the global food supply chain, but specifically, the earthquake zone and the main affected areas of the earthquake are in the southeast of Turkey, and the Black Sea grain export locations are mainly in its northwest, so the real impact may be limited, and the specific situation of the earthquake needs to be analyzed in detail.
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