The Black Sea port of Karasu in the Turkish province of Sakarya makes a significant contribution to the country’s economy through cargo handling services and ro-ro flights.
Karasu is one of the closest Turkish ports to the Black Sea countries.
The construction of the sea harbor began in 1994. The port was put into operation in 2017.
In 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, 29,000 vehicles used ro-ro cruises in Karasu. In the same year, the volume of loading of general cargo in the port amounted to 880,000 tons.
In 2021, the volume of cargo transshipment by the port amounted to 1.1 million tons. The number of ro-ro cruises reached 50,000. Last year, 481 ships moored in Karasu.
This year, against the backdrop of the Ukrainian-Russian war, loading and unloading operations in the amount of 700,000 tons were performed in the port. In addition, 12,500 vehicles were serviced as part of ro-ro cruises.
It is expected that depending on the course of the war in Ukraine, the port will end this year with the transshipment of general cargo of 1.1 million tons and 30,000 ro-ro cruises.
At the moment, the sea terminal has an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons of general cargo, 50,000 containers, and 50,000 ro-ro cargo.
With the completion of the second phase and the establishment of the railway connection, the port of Karasu will reach an annual capacity of 6 million tons, 150,000 containers for general cargo, and 110,000 vehicles in the framework of ro-ro services.
Due to its location, the port of Karasu provides the lowest cost of maritime transportation of goods among all ports after crossing the Bosphorus.
