New Ro-Ro Line Allows Turkish Exports to Avoid Bulgaria

The port of Tekirdag on the Marmara Sea has launched a new ferry line with Toulon, France. Map by Wikipedia

A new roll-on/roll-off shipping line connecting Turkey and France is allowing Turkish exporters to skip going through a congested Bulgarian border crossing.

The new line connecting Turkish port Tekirdag on the Sea of Marmara and the port of Toulon in France has just been opened transporting the first 140 trucks, the BNR reported.

The trucks get sealed by the Turkish customs and are transported to France by a ferry in 72 hours, while the drivers are flown there by plane from a port in Istanbul.

Ali Cicekli, head of the Association of International Transporters in Turkey, is quoted as saying that the new roll-on/roll-off line connecting Turkey with France will most likely be running twice a week starting in June 2010, as opposed to just once a week at present.

In his words, the new ferry line is making it much easier for Turkish exporters to reach their Western European markets because it allows them to avoid the congested crossing point on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, Kapakule - Kapitan Andreevo.

“The land route to Western Europe through Kapitan Andreevo poses huge problems for Turkey’s exports because of the insufficient capacity of the Bulgarian customs there. The Turkish trucks usually wait for days in order to enter EU territory. What is more, the land route goes through several other countries which complicates further the customs procedures and makes the transported goods more expensive. The ro-ro shipping has a number of advantages, and will help us solve these issues,” the Turkish representative is quoted as saying.

The Tekirdag port has had a special x-ray installed in order to inspect the trucks heading for France.

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