Foreign-flagged cargo ships are still sailing from Turkish ports to Israel after Ankara’s August announcement that it had shut ports to Israeli ships and barred Turkish vessels from calling at Israeli ports, according to maritime tracking data.
AIS data show the Liberian-flagged ro-ro Trans Carrier left İskenderun on September 7 and arrived in Haifa on September 8.
The Hong Kong-flagged container ship Nysted Maersk departed Mersin on September 7 and was due to reach Haifa around September 10 local time.
Turkey’s foreign minister said on August 29 that ports were closed to Israeli ships and that Turkish-flagged ships would not call at Israeli ports, while also announcing airspace restrictions, but did not declare a blanket ban on third-country vessels trading between Turkey and Israel.
In the days before and after that statement, shipping lines and maritime advisories reported tight rules on Israel-linked vessels and cargo at Turkish ports, including requirements for agents to file letters affirming no Israeli affiliation and no military or hazardous cargo bound for Israel.
Israeli carrier ZIM said it rerouted vessels after Turkish authorities barred Israeli-affiliated ships from Turkish ports, underscoring that the measures target ownership, management, or operation ties to Israel rather than all traffic to Israeli ports.
Independent Turkish reporting has also documented workarounds and continued sailings by non-Israeli, non-Turkish flags on routes that include Turkish ports and Israeli destinations.
The August announcement built on Turkey’s May 2024 suspension of direct trade with Israel, an action that Ankara said would remain in place until conditions in Gaza changed, affecting an annual flow of about $7 billion.
The current pattern indicates that flag and affiliation determine access to Turkish ports under the August measures, while third-country vessels continue to move cargo between Turkey and Israel if they meet the new declarations and are not Israel-linked.
Israel has not publicly detailed changes to its port access for Turkish-flagged ships since Turkey’s announcement, while Turkish officials have framed the rules as part of broader restrictions on trade and transit with Israel.
The situation leaves overall Turkey-Israel sea trade reduced and rerouted rather than fully halted, with monitoring of AIS data and port notices showing continued sailings by foreign-flagged carriers between Turkish ports and Haifa.