Mersin International Port has completed the first phase of a $455 million terminal that lifts its annual container capacity by about a third and lets it handle the world's largest container ships.
The project, East Med Hub 2 (EMH2), raises the port's capacity from 2.6 million to 3.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), the operator said when it announced the milestone in June 2025. Work began in 2023.
The new terminal can berth two ultra-large container vessels of more than 400 metres (1,310 ft) at the same time. The port took its first such ship, the 19,313-TEU MSC Ditte, in October 2025. In November it handled the MSC Irina, among the largest container ships in service at 24,346 TEU, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
Mersin International Port, on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast, is the busiest container gateway in the eastern Mediterranean and a joint venture of PSA International, IFM and Akfen. It has been privately operated since 2007, when the concession was sold for about $755 million.
The added capacity gives Mersin more room to compete for transshipment traffic across the eastern Mediterranean and to carry Türkiye's export trade through the Çukurova plain behind it.
Timeline
- 2007: Mersin International Port is privatized; the concession sells for about $755 million.
- 2023: Work begins on the $455 million East Med Hub 2 (EMH2) terminal.
- June 2025: Phase one is completed, lifting annual capacity from 2.6 million to 3.6 million TEU.
- October 2025: The port berths its first 400-metre mega ship, the 19,313-TEU MSC Ditte.
- November 2025: The 24,346-TEU MSC Irina, one of the largest container ships afloat, calls at the new terminal.
Sources: reporting drawn from Mersin International Port and PSA International statements, Anadolu Ajansı, Daily Sabah, and maritime trade press.