Ship chandlers & ship supply at Istanbul TRIST

The Ministry of Transport counted 40,172 ships through the Istanbul Strait in 2025 (84,640 across both Turkish Straits), carrying 422.8 million tonnes of cargo, 203.7 million tonnes of it dangerous. General cargo ships (14,724) and bulk carriers (7,493) led the Bosphorus count; 128 ships over 300 m and 1,836 of 250–300 m made the passage.^[3]

—Pilots boarded 24,608 Bosphorus transits in 2025 — 61.3% of the traffic — although pilotage is not compulsory for a ship passing straight through.^[3,1]

—Istanbul’s container trade runs through the Ambarlı terminals on the Marmara coast west of the city; in August 2026 CMA CGM moved its six Ambarlı services from the Mardaş terminal to Marport.^[4]

—Tuzla, the shipyard district of Istanbul’s Asian side, has its own port authority (Tuzla Liman Başkanlığı); its anchorage No. 3 doubles as the Kartal anchorage for ships waiting to transit the Bosphorus.^[1]

Traffic in the Straits is governed by the Turkish Straits Maritime Traffic Regulation, issued by Presidential Decision 1426 (Official Gazette 30859, 15 August 2019) on the basis of the 1936 Montreux Convention, and managed by the Turkish Straits Vessel Traffic Service (TBGTH) centres.^[1]

—Sailing Plan 1 (SP-1): ships of 500 GT and over, and every ship carrying dangerous cargo, report in writing to the VTS centre at least 24 hours before entering the Strait; ships leaving a Marmara port report at least 6 hours before departure. Ships of 150–200 m or 10–15 m draught give 24 hours; 200–300 m or over 15 m draught, 48 hours; ships of 300 m and more give voyage details at the planning stage and SP-1 at least 72 hours ahead.^[1]

—Sailing Plan 2 (SP-2) goes by VHF 2 hours before entering the Strait or 20 nautical miles out, whichever comes first; ships of 20 m and over also give a position report 5 nautical miles from the entrance.^[1]

—Pilotage: for ships transiting without calling, the VTS centres strongly recommend taking a pilot. Pilotage and towage in the Straits are provided by the Directorate General of Coastal Safety (Kıyı Emniyeti) on behalf of the Ministry, which may not delegate that authority. A ship under pilotage flies flag H; a ship in non-stop transit flies flag T by day and shows an all-round green light at night.^[1]

—The anchorage stop: a ship in non-stop transit may, with VTS permission, stay up to 168 hours at a designated anchorage without free pratique, for death, illness, crew change, leave or agent contact, fuel, provisions, repairs and similar needs. Staying longer means taking free pratique, and the ship is then treated as having broken its transit for health, security and customs controls.^[1]

—Southern-entrance anchorages: A, for ships going alongside a coastal facility (a pilot is compulsory to anchor and weigh); B, for ships leaving a facility for a long stay; C, for dangerous-cargo ships and gas-freeing; Küçükçekmece, also used as a quarantine anchorage; and Kartal, for ships without dangerous cargo waiting to transit the Bosphorus. Anchoring within 2.5 cables of the shore is prohibited.^[1]

—Pilot for berthing: under the Ports Regulation, foreign-flag ships of 500 GT and over, Turkish-flag ships of 1,000 GT and over, and tankers or dangerous-cargo ships of 500 GT and over must take a pilot to berth at or leave a coastal facility. Bunker barges of 1,000 GT or less going alongside a ship to refuel it are exempt.^[2]

—Port-call transit: a foreign-flag merchant ship of any tonnage that enters through the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles bound for a Marmara port — or leaves one through either strait — must take a pilot on the stretches the port authorities declare compulsory.^[2]

—Unauthorised anchoring or berthing while in the traffic scheme is not tolerated: the ship is moved with a pilot and tugs and the cost is recovered from its owner, operator or agent.^[1]

—Provisions, stores, spares and crew logistics are arranged commercially through your agent — the 168-hour anchorage stop is the natural window for a transiting ship. Post a requirement and suppliers serving Istanbul answer with sealed bids; suppliers never see the vessel’s name until award. If you serve the Istanbul anchorages, Ambarlı or the Tuzla yards, activate Istanbul.