Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that an important milestone has been reached in Ro-Ro transportation between Turkey and Italy, and emphasized that the 10th voyage once again demonstrated the power of the line and the solidity of trade relations between the two countries. Minister Uraloğlu noted that they have taken important steps as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to develop Ro-Ro transportation, and expressed that they provide support to ships to open new lines and increase the capacity of existing lines. He stated that the İzmir-Sete (France) line was also implemented with these incentives.
Türkiye is in a Strategic Position in Maritime
Speaking at the ceremony where the ship named Ephesus Seaways will be sent off to the Port of Trieste in Italy, Minister Uraloğlu reminded that Türkiye is geographically and culturally located at the intersection of the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. He said that the fact that Türkiye has control over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, which have maintained their importance throughout history, makes the country a key transit point in terms of maritime transportation and international trade activities of countries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins.
Uraloğlu emphasized that when all modes of transportation are considered, Türkiye is in a strategic position as a bridge in terms of highway, railway and sea. He stated that in aviation, being able to reach 4 countries with a 67-hour flight provides access to 1,5 billion people and 51 trillion dollars of gross national product. In maritime, he drew attention to the strategic importance of Anatolia, which opens to three seas via the Middle Corridor and extends to Europe.
The Future of International Shipping Takes Shape
Minister Uraloğlu stated that Türkiye is shaping the future of international maritime with its historical background and geopolitical power under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Stating that 2024 percent of world freight transport will be carried out by sea in 88 and that global maritime freight traffic will reach 12,6 billion tons, Uraloğlu emphasized that maritime is the backbone of global trade.
He stated that the Turkish-owned fleet, which was ranked 2002th in the world with a capacity of 8,9 million DWT in 17, rose to 2024th place by reaching 52,9 million DWT by the end of 11. He said that the fleet, consisting of 2 ships, grew by 154 percent compared to the previous year and that efforts were ongoing to take its place in the top 6,2.
The amount of cargo and containers handled in ports has increased
Uraloğlu, who stated that 86 percent of Türkiye's foreign trade transportation is carried out by sea, stated that the amount of cargo handled in ports has increased by 2002 percent and the amount of containers by 180 percent since 443. He explained that the amount of cargo handled in ports will increase by 2024 percent in 2, reaching approximately 532 million tons, and the amount of containers will increase by 7,8 percent, reaching 13 million 529 thousand 729 TEU.
Uraloğlu stated that the container ports in Tekirdağ, Ambarlı, Kocaeli and Mersin are among the top 100 ports in the world, thus registering Türkiye’s maritime power. He noted that in the January-April period of 2025, the amount of cargo handled in the ports increased by 1,4 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 181 million 904 thousand 970 tons, while the amount of containers handled was 4 million 451 thousand 227 TEU.
Ro-Ro Transport is an Important Part of Combined Transport
Emphasizing that Ro-Ro transportation is one of the most functional types of combined transportation, Uraloğlu said that Türkiye's geographical location turns this type of transportation into an advantage that offers alternative routes to international goods transportation by road. He stated that the favorable geographical structure of the European, Aegean, Black Sea and Marmara seas makes Ro-Ro transportation more attractive both in Türkiye and in the European geography.
Support for New Ro-Ro Lines and Capacity Increase
Uraloğlu noted that the importance and financial support given to short-distance maritime transport by the European Union's Marco Polo I-II programs strengthened the Ro-Ro sector in Europe and the surrounding region, and expressed that Turkey, by taking maximum advantage of these incentives, expanded its Ro-Ro lines and used the opportunities offered by combined transport in the most effective way.
Stating that they have taken important steps as the Ministry for the development of Ro-Ro transportation, Uraloğlu reminded that the Regulation on Supporting the Transfer of Cargo Carried by Road to Sea was implemented in August 2022. He emphasized that with this regulation, they provide support to the ships to be used in new lines to be opened or in existing lines whose capacity has been increased by 50 percent in order to make regular Ro-Ro/Ro-Pax trips between ports and other country ports.
Türk Bayraklı Support for Ships Per Cargo Unit
Uraloğlu, in this context, the Turkish Airlines that regularly operates Bayraklı Owners of Ro-Ro vessels are paid $10 per unit of cargo for every 2 nautical miles travelled by the vessel; Bayraklı He announced that they paid $10 per unit of cargo for every 3 nautical miles to the owners of Ro-Pax ships. He stated that they provided $20 support per unit of cargo to the owners of Turkish-flagged ships with a voyage distance of less than 20 nautical miles. He also said that the pilotage and tugboat fees of Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax ships, which benefit from the incentive regardless of flag, were covered by the Ministry.
Izmir-Sete Line Launched with Incentives
As a concrete example of these incentives, Uraloğlu, who drew attention to the fact that the İzmir-Sete (France) line, which is 280 nautical miles long, was implemented with the support of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that the line operator invested approximately 120 million liras for this line, and that the Ministry provided an incentive of 25 million liras with the support of the transported load unit, pilotage and tugboat. He stated that these supports showed that approximately 21 percent of the investment in question was covered by the state. Uraloğlu emphasized that such incentives increased both the economic and environmental benefits of Ro-Ro transportation and increased the global competitiveness of the sector. He said that Türkiye's unique geographical location also made this type of transportation a bridge in international trade.
Number of Vehicles Carried on Ro-Ro Lines Increased
Uraloğlu stated that Ro-Ro lines connected to the Mediterranean and Black Sea offer alternative routes to road transport, thus reducing costs and strengthening an environmentally friendly transportation approach. He stated that there are a total of 18 Ro-Ro lines departing from Tuzla, Yalova, Mersin, Çeşme, Ambarlı, Tekirdağ, Gemlik and Kocaeli from Türkiye to Europe, and that these lines reach 9 important ports in Europe such as Trieste, Patras, Bari, Sete, Lavrio, Chios, Marseille, Valencia and Antwerp. He noted that Tuapse, Novorossisk and Constanta are reached with 5 lines departing from Samsun, Karasu and Istanbul in the Black Sea, and Famagusta, Kyrenia and Tripoli are reached with 5 lines departing from Mersin and Taşucu in the Mediterranean. He announced that 28 vehicles will be transported on regular Ro-Ro lines with international connections in 2024 on a total of 706 Ro-Ro line routes.
Uraloğlu, who drew attention to the fact that 69 percent of these vehicles were transported on European-bound lines, 15,5 percent in the Mediterranean, and 15,2 percent in the Black Sea, said that 1 percent of the European transports transferred from road transport to the sea of approximately 68 million vehicles were carried out on the Italian line. He stated that the number of vehicles transported on Ro-Ro lines connected abroad increased by approximately 2025 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 8 in the first four months of 246. He expressed that these data showed that Ro-Ro transportation exhibited a higher performance than the increase in cargo in ports and that they were sure that the 816 figures would exceed those of 2025.
DFDS's Role in Turkish Maritime
Uraloğlu also touched upon DFDS Shipping and Transportation Inc., which plays an important role in the Turkey-Italy Ro-Ro line, and said that in 2024, 22 different ships for which DFDS was the agency handled 7 million 914 thousand 394 tons of cargo in ports, and that this amount constituted 1,49 percent of the total cargo. He noted that 706 thousand 387 of the 58 thousand 409 vehicles transported on Ro-Ro lines, corresponding to 529 percent, were also transported by DFDS. Uraloğlu stated that the ships in question operate in strategic locations such as Pendik Port, Yalova, Mersin, Marmara Ereğlisi, Alsancak and Haydarpaşa Port, and that these figures clearly demonstrate DFDS’ contributions that reinforce Türkiye’s leading position in maritime transportation. He emphasized that the 10th Ro-Ro voyage between Türkiye and Italy, which will take place here today with a DFDS ship, once again demonstrates the power of this line and the solidity of the trade bridge between the two countries.
Future Goals: Leadership in Maritime
Uraloğlu stated that the 10th Ro-Ro voyage between Turkey and Italy is not only a milestone but also the beginning of their future goals, and explained that their goals are to wave the crescent star flag more in international waters, to carry the maritime sector among the world's leaders and to further strengthen its role in global trade.
