The hazardous chemicals that were stored at Türkiye’s Port of Iskenderun and the resulting blaze from the 7.8 Richter-scale earthquake on February 6 led to the destruction of 3 670 containers.
The earthquake, which had its epicentre in the city of Kahramanmaraş, about 120 kilometres to the north-east, killed more than 40 600 people and triggered a ripple effect of destruction across the Levantine coast of Türkiye, including the port.
According to maritime reports this morning, the aftershock explosion at the port was caused when stacked containers toppled onto each other.
Port authorities took three days to extinguish the inferno and mop-up operations have started in earnest, while indications thus far point to closure of the port for three months.
Carriers in the meantime are calling at other ports in the area in a bid to repair and sustain disrupted supply chain services into the devastated area.
Apart from the monthly throughput of about 40 000 TEUs at Iskenderun, additional supply chain challenges related to the quake are being experienced in neighbouring north-western Syria where emergency aid has been held back from entering rebel-held territory.
