Sea freight from Turkey: FCL and LCL containers Five ports, one contact.
We organise sea freight from Türkiye: FCL and LCL containers and project cargo, from five Turkish ports. Booking, equipment, customs clearance and documents run in one file, and the same person is your contact from booking to delivery.
- FCL · LCL and project cargo
- 5 gateways · no ranking
- Customs clearance in-house
FCL · LCL
Full container or groupage
Volume starts the decision but does not settle it. We put two quotes side by side and find the break-even point with you.
Full container load
The container is yours alone and the freight is priced per box. Booking, empty container supply, loading follow-up and the bill of lading are ours.
Less than container load
Your cargo is grouped with other shipments at the consolidation warehouse. It is priced per m³, and you ship without hiring a whole container.
No single threshold
LCL freight grows with volume while FCL is fixed per container, and the local charges on each side move the break-even point. The calculator on the FCL or LCL page finds it from the two quotes you hold.
A courier fits better
Below one pallet, courier and express companies are both cheaper and faster. We work at the scale of containers and part loads.
Equipment
Container types and limits
Choosing a container is as much about weight as volume: heavy cargo reaches the weight limit before the box is full.
Dry containers
In one carrier's published specification the maximum gross weight of a general purpose container is the same for 20' and 40': up to 32,500 kg. A bigger box therefore carries no more tonnes of heavy cargo. On pre-carriage the road vehicle's weight limit counts as well; dimensions are on the container dimensions page.
How many pallets fit
The answer depends on the loading pattern and the container's internal width. The pallets per container page shows two patterns side by side.
Refrigerated container
For cargo that needs temperature control; one of our full container options.
Heavy and out-of-gauge
Cargo loaded from the top or the side, larger than the container itself. Survey, lashing and permits included.
Pieces that do not fit a box
For project cargo, gauge, terminal and crane planning are set up separately.
Gateways
Five gateways, no ranking
Our head office is in Küçükçekmece, İstanbul, our operations team sits beside the Ambarlı port cluster, and we have our own teams at Mersin, Asyaport, İskenderun and İzmir. We choose the port with you, by destination and by where the factory is; we do not rank them.
Ambarlı
İstanbul · Marmara
Mersin
Mersin · Mediterranean
Asyaport
Tekirdağ · Marmara
İskenderun
Hatay · Mediterranean
İzmir
Alsancak and Aliağa · Aegean
Sea freight, customs clearance, road connection and project cargo are the same at all five gateways; what changes is the port your cargo leaves from. At Mersin, Asyaport, İskenderun and İzmir our own field team works on the ground, while official correspondence, contracts and invoicing run through the İstanbul head office.
We can also ship from other Turkish ports; where we have no team of our own, we say so from the start. Terminals, quays and customs offices are on the Ports page.
Documents
Bill of lading and release
The document decides who takes the goods at destination, and against what. The choice is commercial, not technical: it follows the payment terms and your relationship with the buyer.
Bill of lading
A receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and a document of title: at destination the goods go to whoever presents the original. More on what a bill of lading is.
Telex release and surrender
The originals are returned to the carrier at origin, so no paper has to be presented at destination. Security goes down, speed goes up. The four methods compared: telex release vs surrendered B/L.
Collecting the container
On import, the delivery order is the document that releases the container from the port; step by step on the delivery order page.
The document set
Which document is issued by whom, and at which stage: export documents.
Loading
Before the box goes on board
Two things can stop a shipment at the port: a weight nobody declared, and a delivery term that does not fit the cargo.
Verified gross mass
Under SOLAS, since 1 July 2016 the verified gross mass of every packed container is declared to the carrier before loading; a container without it is not loaded. The shipper is responsible. The mass is found by weighing the packed container, or by weighing the contents and adding the tare. The Turkish documentation rules are on the VGM page.
FOB or FCA
ICC's introduction to Incoterms® 2020 advises a seller who hands containerised goods to the carrier before they are loaded on board to sell FCA rather than FOB. If an on-board bill of lading is still needed, the added option in FCA provides for it. Compared on the FOB or FCA page.
Price
We do not quote instantly
Freight rates move daily. A fixed number on a screen is either out of date or has charges hidden inside it that surface later. We price by hand, line by line.
What sits on top of the freight
Terminal handling (THC), bunker (BAF), currency (CAF), peak season (PSS), security (ISPS) and emissions (ETS). Most are commercial charges based on the carrier's own tariff, and they do not all come from the same party: ocean freight cost items.
Demurrage, detention, storage
Three clocks, three parties: the container at the terminal, the container with you, the goods in storage. We watch the free-time clock. When each one starts: demurrage, detention and storage.
Itemised and in writing
During working hours we reply with an itemised written quote the same day, otherwise the next business day. No charge appears that is not in the quote.
We do not claim to be the cheapest
On any single shipment someone else may quote lower. Our claim is that no charge appears which was not in the quote.
Customs
Customs and insurance in the same file
Customs brokerage is in-house. Our own customs broker handles the declaration, tariff classification, and origin and movement certificates; the file is never handed to a third party.
The clock starts with the ship
Goods arriving by sea must be assigned a customs-approved treatment within 45 days of the summary declaration (Turkish Customs Law No. 4458, art. 46). Meanwhile they wait in temporary storage, and storage charges build up there.
One error, a long wait
A hold caused by a wrong tariff code or a missing document is the most expensive delay: the cargo stops, demurrage and storage charges accrue. The consequences: wrong HS code.
The value of the cargo
The carrier's liability is limited; cargo insurance protects the value of the goods. Under Incoterms® 2020 the CIF seller provides at least Clauses (C) cover, the CIP seller at least Clauses (A). We handle the insurance process; clauses on the cargo insurance page, limits on carrier liability limits.
To the port and beyond
Pre-carriage from the factory and on-carriage to the door by road freight, full or part load. When sea, rail and road are joined in one plan, it is intermodal transport.
Frequently asked
Why are transit times and prices not on this page?
Transit time depends on the service, the transhipment port and the sailing schedule; price depends on the day's freight rate and the surcharges. A fixed figure is either out of date or incomplete. We give you an itemised written quote for your shipment.
Who chooses the port of loading?
We do it together. The factory's location, the destination port, the sailing schedule, empty container availability and the deadline are read together; the quote states the port and why. If it changes later, we write down the reason.
Can you ship from a port where you have no team?
Yes; the quote says "no team of our own at this port". We still run the shipment, a contracted agent works on the ground, and your contact stays the same.
Who declares the VGM?
The shipper. Under SOLAS VI/2 the verified gross mass is declared to the carrier before loading; a packed container without it is not loaded. The Turkish documentation and weighing rules are on the VGM page.
Do you handle customs as well?
Yes. Customs brokerage is in-house: export and import declarations, tariff classification and origin documents stay in the same file, and the file is never handed to a third party.
Who receives the cargo at the destination port?
On exports our agents run the destination end; they are not our own team, and we say so from the start. The addresses of our agents in Greece, North Macedonia, China and Cameroon are on the contact page.
Sources
- IMO — Verification of the gross mass of a packed container (SOLAS VI/2) In force 1 July 2016; the shipper is responsible; a packed container without a verified gross mass is not loaded; two weighing methods · imo.org · accessed 30 Sep 2026
- ICC — Incoterms® 2020, introduction (Publication No. 723E) Paragraphs 60 (VGM note), 66 (FCA rather than FOB for containers; on-board bill of lading option in FCA A6/B6), 70 (CIF at least Clauses (C), CIP at least Clauses (A)) · icc-switzerland.ch · accessed 30 Sep 2026
- Turkish Customs Law No. 4458, art. 46 Art. 46/2-a: goods arriving by sea, 45 days from the summary declaration · tim.org.tr (text of the Law); mevzuat.gov.tr could not be opened the same day · accessed 30 Sep 2026
- Hapag-Lloyd — Container Specification Maximum gross weight of general purpose containers up to 32,500 kg for 20' and 40'; road and rail limits apply separately · hapag-lloyd.com · accessed 30 Sep 2026
This page is for information only; it is not a contract, tariff, transit time or capacity commitment. It makes no claim of volume, ranking or comparative advantage. Freight, surcharges, free time and cut-off times follow the current tariff of the line and the terminal. Container weight limits vary by equipment and carrier and are confirmed before loading.
Change log
- Page published. Sea freight moved from its section on the services page to its own address. The SOLAS rule was read at IMO, the Incoterms® notes in ICC's introduction, the import deadline in the Customs Law and the weight limit in the carrier's specification.