Mersin International Port
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Mersin Port was tendered by the Privatization Administration of Turkey and its operation rights were awarded to the PSA-Akfen Joint Venture Group for a term of 36 years. Mersin International Port (MIP) was established by the PSA-Akfen Joint Venture Group on May 11, 2007.
Our partner Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) is one of the world's largest port operators of the world, was established in 1972 in Singapore. PSA provides container terminal services at 28 port projects in 16 countries. PSA International's Singapore terminals operate as the world's largest transshipment center. MIP, with the combined strength of Akfen Holding and PSA, will create a business plan that will increase its service quality, which will benefit its customers as well as the provincial and national economy.
Mersin Port is a port in Turkey that can provide all maritime and terminal services. It also has the distinction of being a complete port due to its location neighboring the Free Zone. Thanks to its railway and highway connections, it is an ideal transit port for trade with the Middle East.
With the wide span of its hinterland, Mersin Port is conveniently connected to inland destinations by highways and railways. The nearest airport to the port is the Adana Airport, 69 kilometers away. As one of the major ports of the Eastern Mediterranean, Mersin Port is the gateway to imports and exports to Central Anatolian, Mediterranean and Southeastern Anatolian regions as well as a transit center for the Middle East countries. Mersin Port will gain even more prominence when the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) takes effect in full.
Occupying an area of approximately 1,100,000 square meters, in 2009 Mersin Port has accommodated the loading and unloading of nearly 12 ships in 21 piers. In Mersin Port total handling of all cargo types was approximately 15,000,000 tons in 2009. The port provides services to ships that transport passengers, bulk freight, container, live animals and grains. The piers are able to accommodate ships up to 14-meter drafts.
5,118,005 TEU of containers was handled in Turkey during 2008. Mersin Port's share in this total was 17%.
In 2007, Mersin Port achieved a 24% increase over the previous year, handling 804,000 TEU of containers. In 2008, this figure increased to 868,000 for an 8% growth over 2007 figures.
Mersin Port registered an all-time high in its history by handling a total tonnage of more than 5,500,000 in general cargo, dry bulk cargo and liquid bulk cargo in 2008.
Since winning the tender for the Mersin Port, three new container services making direct cruise between Europe and the Far East have begun to operate from the Mersin Port.
Since the acquisition of its operation right, field and equipment investments at Mersin Port include the following:
As part of the new field investments made for the purpose of accommodating increasing export volume and providing faster service to exporting firms at the port; a 120,000 square-meter additional area was paved and allocated. The six hectare TOKİ field was leased under a long-term agreement and was revised as an empty container field. A customs license was acquired for the TOKİ field and it was placed in service. With the deployment of additional fields, traffic bottlenecks inside the port were averted and vehicle waiting times were reduced.
Work is ongoing for the creation of a Port Operating System (TOS). Monitoring of container movements at manual and vehicle terminals has begun in pilot areas.
In accordance with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), work on International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) plans was completed in December 2007 and Mersin Port was accepted as a safe port by international standards and received an ISPS certificate.
The security of the port area, both on the grounds and along the border fences, has been enhanced by Closed Circuit TV Camera Systems (CCTV). The site now has 96 CCTV cameras with night vision and a 360 degree rotational capacity.
While European standards stipulate a 24-hour wait at anchor, Mersin Port has already been able to bring the waiting period down to less than one hour as of January 2008, despite the increase in ship traffic thanks to the field and equipment investments as well as increased speed of operations.
To prevent the spread of liquid oils and chemicals that spill into the sea, barriers as well as tools and equipment to collect these liquid wastes were placed in service for the first time. In addition, lashing-unlashing and coning-deconing services began to be provided to the container ships for the first time. All units of the port were connected to each other and to the internet through a computer network for the first time. Furthermore, efforts were initiated to acquire an ISO-14001 Environmental Management Systems certificate.
Due to the increase in demand for maritime trade around the world and the ensuing rise in the capacities of newly built ships, plans are now on the drawing board to increase pier depths. When these efforts are completed, larger ships will be able to moor at the Mersin Port. One of Turkey's most important ports for imports, exports and transit trade, Mersin Port will soon become the most developed port both in Turkey and in the region thanks to its increased handling capacity as a result of investments and operational improvements.
After evaluating all the improvements and investments described above, Lloyd's List named Mersin International Port Operations the port of the year at its Turkish Shipping Awards in May. In addition, Mersin Port won the Award for the Port Handling the Highest Container Throughput for the Export Regime in 2007 and the Award for the Port Handling the Highest Volume of Liquid Bulk Cargo in 2007 from the Turkish Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade in October. Furthermore, Mersin Port was also granted the Kadri Şaman Award, which was given for the first time this year by the Mersin Chamber of Trade and Industry (MTSO), as the Company that Contributed the Most to the Logistics Sector in 2007. Thus, Mersin Port's accomplishments in port operations were acknowledged with these four awards within a year.
