Alliance causes Turkish strategy shift

“M2 changes all our plans,” he told Port Strategy. “Now it seems there is one concept which is the continuous of P3; larger vessel-feeder supported Far East to Black Sea service and another concept of Ocean’s 3 CMA CGM-UASC-CSCL direct calls by operating Bosphorus type 9,500 teu capacity vessels”

There is also the added complication of calls from larger ships as lines strive to make the most of economies of scale.

“The lines just decide to use bigger vessels and as a port you have to cope or they will go to your neighbour,” said Mr Çiloğlu. “But we are proactively investing in equipment and infrastructure.”

Fast-growing Yilport also has the competitive advantage of multi ports of call when it comes to attracting lines. “This,” says Mr Çiloğlu, “is something unique for this region.”

However, dealing with empties has become a problem at the international operator’s national terminals, something that the operator freely acknowledges.

“We have a huge amount of empties at the terminal; it’s as challenging dealing with empties as it is with full containers. We need to manage this and support the lines and in this respect our new feeder service will give us some breathing space.”