Mediterranean

Port of Mersin

The Port of Mersin is a multipurpose port in the city of Mersin on Türkiye's eastern Mediterranean coast, run since 2007 by Mersin International Port (MIP). It brings container, dry bulk, liquid bulk, general cargo and Ro-Ro traffic together in one place, which gives chandlers, agents, technical service firms and surveyors a broad pool of potential customers.

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36°48'N 34°39'E Suggested range: 15 nm

Province: Mersin
Region: Mediterranean
Coordinates: 36°48'N 34°39'E
Suggested range: 15 nm
Cargo types: ContainersDry bulkLiquid bulkGeneral cargoProject cargoRo-Ro

Terminals

Mersin Uluslararası Liman İşletmeciliği A.Ş. (MIP), ATAŞ storage terminal (Karaduvar)

Mersin is one of Türkiye’s key ports for container and Ro-Ro traffic. This page explains how the port is set up, where ships anchor, and how you can follow that traffic with VesselCall.

Port profile: location, operator and cargo

The Port of Mersin lies east of Mersin city center, in the Akdeniz district, with the Mersin Free Zone right next to it. It is run by Mersin International Port (MIP), which took over the port from the state railways TCDD on May 11, 2007 under a 36-year transfer of operating rights. MIP is a joint venture of PSA International, IFM and Akfen.

According to the shareholders and the Turkish port operators’ association TÜRKLİM, the port handles:

Containers
Dry bulk, such as grain, cement, coal and fertilizer
Liquid bulk, mainly vegetable oils and some chemicals
General cargo and project cargo
Ro-Ro, passengers and livestock

The first phase of the East Med Hub 2 (EMH2) expansion was completed in May 2025, and 400-meter container ships have started berthing at the new quay. According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, about 1.97 million TEU of containers were handled in the Mersin harbour master’s area in 2025.

Vessel traffic and anchorages

Container ships lead Mersin’s traffic, joined by dry and liquid bulk carriers, general cargo ships and Ro-Ro ships. Ministry statistics list regular Ro-Ro lines from Mersin to Famagusta, Kyrenia, Trieste and Aqaba. In 2025, 3,924 vessels called in the Mersin harbour master’s area. The ATAŞ storage terminal in Karaduvar also loads and discharges fuel tankers.

The Mersin section of Türkiye’s Ports Regulation (Limanlar Yönetmeliği) defines three anchorages. We calculated the distances below from the official coordinates, measured from the port basin:

Anchorage	Use	Location
No. 1	Ships without dangerous cargo, naval vessels	South, about 2-8 nm
No. 2	Dangerous cargo, quarantine, gas-freeing	Southeast, about 5-10 nm
No. 3	Ships without dangerous cargo, naval vessels, quarantine	Southeast, about 8-12 nm

The pilot boarding points are about 1.5-3 nm southeast of the port.

Which service companies find work in Mersin?

Ship chandlers: Container ships that need fast deliveries during short port stays, and bulk carriers that wait longer at anchor. See our page for ship chandlers.
Technical service and spare parts: Service jobs within tight container ship windows, and repairs on ships at anchor. See marine technical services.
Ship agents: Regular Ro-Ro lines, project cargo and livestock shipments.
Surveyors: Quantity and draft surveys for dry and liquid bulk, and damage surveys for containers and project cargo.

How VesselCall monitors the Port of Mersin

In Outreach, you select Mersin and set a range (radius). We suggest 15 nautical miles: that circle covers the port, the pilot boarding points and all three anchorages, including No. 3, the farthest one. VesselCall detects cargo ships, tankers and passenger ships inside the range and filters out tugs, pilot boats, fishing boats and yachts by default.

Using the vessel’s IMO number, VesselCall identifies the ship manager or commercial manager, then the ISM manager, then the registered owner. Your introduction e-mail goes out from your own company domain, in the recipient’s language. Guard rails matter for the Ro-Ro and container ships that return to Mersin often: a vessel never gets a second e-mail within 7 days, and gets at most 3 e-mails in 90 days.

The Data package records port calls at Mersin independently of e-mail sending: arrival, departure, length of stay, and whether the ship waited at anchor or at berth. Period reports show the split between container, bulk and Ro-Ro ships, flags and the most frequent ship managers, and you can export the list to CSV or Excel. Records build up from the day monitoring starts.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What kind of ships call at the Port of Mersin?

Container ships lead Mersin's traffic. They are joined by dry and liquid bulk carriers, general cargo ships and Ro-Ro ships sailing to Famagusta, Kyrenia, Trieste and Aqaba.

Who operates the Port of Mersin?

Mersin International Port (MIP), which took over the port from the state railways TCDD in 2007 under a 36-year transfer of operating rights. MIP is a joint venture of PSA International, IFM and Akfen.

Where is the Mersin anchorage?

The Mersin harbour master defines three anchorages. Anchorage No. 1 for general use lies south of the port; Nos. 2 and 3 lie to the southeast, about 5-12 nautical miles out, and ships with dangerous cargo use No. 2.