Liner operators have begun diverting services away from a container port devastated by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
AP Moller-Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are redirecting shipments after operations in the Port of Iskenderun ground to a halt.
Bookings bound to the port, or already on the water, will be diverted to nearby hubs or transshipment ports after significant damage to the logistics and transport infrastructure, Maersk said.
It remains unclear clear when the Port of Iskenderun will see a return to normal operations, it added.
“The port has unfortunately been subject to severe structural damage, leading to a complete stop of all operations until further notice,” Maersk said in a customer advisory.
Roads have also been heavily affected and no trucks are moving in and around the area, it added.
Other commercial ports in the area appear not to have been affected.
That enables Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to accepting shipments to the Port of Mersin in the south of Turkey. Maersk is also considering diverting shipments to Port Said in north-east Egypt.
The earthquake led to a suspension of operations at the LimakPort Terminal in Iskenderun on Monday. The terminal is one of the largest container ports in the eastern Mediterranean, with a capacity of more than1m teu.
Video footage on Monday showed a black pillar of smoke from a fire that broke out among a heap of shipping containers that tumbled down at the terminal.
A statement by the Limak Group confirmed the docks were damaged and that some containers were lost, but said there was no loss of life.
