Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu drew attention to the rise of the Turkish maritime trade fleet in the first half of 2024. Uraloğlu: “Thanks to the investments we have made, the Turkish maritime trade fleet has reached 52.7 million deadweight tons, ranking 11th in the world.
We are one step away from our goal of being in the top 10 in the world.”
Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, made statements on the progress of the Turkish-owned maritime trade fleet in the first half of 2024. Stating that they have made all necessary investments as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to increase maritime trade with the motto of “Seafaring Country, Seafaring Nation” and that they have started to get the results of this, Minister Uraloğlu stated that the Turkish-owned maritime trade fleet capacity, which was 39.1 million deadweight tons (DWT) in 2022, increased by 25 percent in 2023 and reached 48.8 million deadweight tons. Uraloğlu underlined that the Turkish-owned maritime trade fleet continued to grow rapidly in 2024 and showed a growth of 7.9 percent in the first half of the year with a capacity increase of 3.8 million deadweight tons compared to last year and said, “A total capacity of 52.73 million deadweight tons was reached, including 6.57 million deadweight tons under Turkish flag and 46.16 million deadweight tons under foreign flag.”
Turkish Owned Merchant Fleet Rises One Step Further in 2024
Minister Uraloğlu stated that the Turkish-owned maritime merchant fleet has moved up one step to 11th place in the world ranking compared to 2023 and said, “There is one last step left to our goal of being in the top 10 in the world. In terms of the number of vessels, the number of vessels increased from 1,574 in 2021 to 2,107 by the end of June 2024. In 2002, the Turkish merchant fleet ranked 17th in the world with a capacity of 8.9 million deadweight tons and reached 52.7 million deadweight tons thanks to our investments.”
1.56 Million Deadweight Tons with the Most Bulk Carriers
Minister Uraloğlu underlined that the Turkish flag maritime fleet is increasing rapidly every year thanks to the efforts they have made to bring the Turkish flag prestige in the maritime sector and said, “Now, the Turkish flag is among the most prestigious flags in the world.” Uraloğlu underlined that when the data for the first six months of 2024 are analyzed according to the main vessel groups, General Cargo Vessels lead the Turkish flagged maritime trade fleet with 118 vessels in terms of units and Bulk Carriers with 1.56 million deadweight tons in terms of deadweight tons.
