Turkey’s Turkon Line is positioning itself in India with long-term growth ambitions, as container industry stakeholders continue to be gripped by the Red Sea crisis that began at the end of 2023 with no clue when things would normalise.
Turkon and its Indian third-party agent, Abrao Group, last week held a trade event in Mumbai to officially launch the Turkey–Red Sea–India (TRI) loop, marking the carrier’s entry to a market it believes has the potential to expand and accelerate.
TRI has a rotation of Ambarli (Istanbul)-Evyap-Aliaga-Mersin-Aqaba-Jeddah-Nhava Sheva-Mundra-Jeddah-Aqaba-Alexandria- Ambarli, deploying four ships of 2,500-2,800 teu, which officials said would soon be joined by a fifth to provide a weekly frequency.
Turkon officials claim the service offers the best transit time between India and Turkey, sailing via the Suez Canal and Red Sea, with reliable rail reach for northern Indian hinterland points, or inland container depots (ICDs).
Ramazan Bizel, president of Turkon America, said: “With nearly three decades of experience in transatlantic shipping, we are proud to bring the same reliability, efficiency, and customer focus to the east—specifically, to India.”
According to him, the routing had been designed to “streamline logistics operations on the disrupted corridor and provide added value to customers or shippers seeking seamless supply chains”.
Istanbul-based Turkon has other asset bets at home, including the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, which has two newbuilds nearing completion for Turkon’s container fleet expansion.
“In 2025, the company will add two newly built, multi-fuel vessels with a capacity of 4,000 teu to its fleet,” Mr Bizel noted.
Sedef also builds frigates for the Turkish navy.
Lenny Abrao, MD of Mumbai-based Abrao Group, told The Loadstar the TRI service had brought significant benefits for Indian exporters and importers due to its direct port calls and network strengths at both ends.
“The service has helped bridge a crucial logistics gap, and the positive feedback we’ve received validates our strategic decision to launch from India,” Mr Abrao said. “We had anticipated strong uptake from varied sectors and the demand from these industries has been consistent.”
Mr Abrao added that plans were in hand to expand and upgrade the service, as the Red Sea was generally viewed as a “natural corridor” for trade between Turkey and India, as well as other secondary markets in the region.
“While future service expansion will be guided by market demand, Turkon’s ultimate goal is to deepen our presence in India and connect more tradelanes that benefit from our fast, sustainable, and reliable solutions.”
Abrao has a network of more than 20 offices in India, covering all major port and inland locations, as well as five overseas branches.