In maritime transport, which is less affected by the pandemic process than other modes of transport, there is a crisis of not being able to find a place in empty containers and ships in this period. Importing and exporting companies are paying the heaviest bill of the crisis, which has increased freight prices up to two to three times. The crisis is expected to continue for several more months. 

As of January 2020, maritime transport has survived the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had its effect all over the world, with certain damages. However, in this period, the crisis of finding containers and empty ships broke out on the sea route. The biggest causes of this crisis, which also has the characteristics of a second wave in the sector, are shown as the increasing trade traffic between the USA and China, the fact that shipowners made this mistake due to the freight that increased by almost 2-3 times, and the disruptions in the empty returns of the containers going into the USA. In addition, the decrease in imports due to the high exchange rate, and therefore the number of incoming ships and containers, deepens the crisis in Turkey. While trying to find a place for itself in the wheels of global competition, the exporter and importer also face the risk of losing their competitiveness due to increasing freight rates. Stating that there is always a shortage of equipment in container transportation, as there is no import-export balance between the regions, the logistics sector representatives expect the problem, which negatively affects exports and imports, to continue until the first quarter of 2021.  FREIGHT PRICES INCREASED TWO-THREE TIMES Cihan Özkal – Member of UTIKAD Board of Directors and Head of Maritime Working Group Cihan Özkal, Member of the Board of Directors of UTIKAD and Head of the Maritime Working Group, pointed out that freight prices peaked in this process and emphasized the correct planning in exports and imports. Cihan Özkal, who stated that the seaway is perhaps the least affected mode of transport from the Covid-19 pandemic compared to other modes of transport from the perspective of Turkey, said, “However, it was very difficult to predict how the effects of this period would be reflected in the last quarter. With the 'New Normal' that started as of June 1, the decreasing restrictions increased exports, but imports came to a halt due to the rapid increase in foreign exchange. With the decrease in imports due to the increase in foreign exchange, the number of ships and containers arriving in the country decreased significantly. This situation brought about the empty container crisis and started to affect our exports negatively.”