Tweet

Middle East

Tuesday, 14 February 2012 17:22

save the story remove the story View Comments

Ro-Ro services (Roll-on/roll-off) between Mersin port of Turkey and Alexandria port of Egypt will begin on February 27. MENA Lines, which will hold the services, stated on Tuesday that vessel named "Mv Ruzgar", which had 120 truck capacity, would begin to perform two services in a week between Mersin and Alexandria. The vessel will depart from Mersin on Monday and Thursday nights. The travel between Mersin and Alexandria will take 24 hours and it will make international land shipping between Turkey and Egypt regular.

The RORO services will officially begin between Dec. 5 and 7, said Çağlayan, who met Egyptian Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Mahmoud Abd al-Rahman Eissa in Istanbul yesterday.

RORO ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo like cars, trucks, trailers and railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels.

Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan said on Dec. 16 that Turkish trucks would immediately start transporting to Gulf countries via Egypt and that the city of Alexandria was prepared for Turkish RoRo ships. “Turkish trucks arriving at the Alexandria port can finish with restrictions and exit the port in six hours,” he said in a press release.

Transporters are facing difficulties in reaching Gulf countries as Turkey is having border disputes with Syria over which route is most feasible, due to political tensions. The Syrian economy would be affected negatively with the commencement of RoRo services between the Mediterranean Turkish port of Mersin and Alexandria RoRo, Çağlayan said.

“Syria generates large revenues from transit fees and fuel,” the minister said, estimating the annual loss of the neighboring country at $100 million. Trucks departing from the port will reach Jordan via Nuwebia port before using another RoRo to Akabe port.