Turkey prevents ZIM ship from docking at Istanbul Port

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new anti-Israel measures, revealed by “Globes” last week, are beginning to be implemented. “Globes” has learned from an Israeli and a Turkish source familiar with the details that the Turkish Ports Authority last Friday refused to allow a ship belonging to ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) to dock at Istanbul Port, due to its Israeli ownership. Consequently, the ship continued to the port of Piraeus in Greece, and currently there is no solution for all of ZIM’s cargo that is supposed to be loaded or unloaded at Turkish ports.

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The Turkish source tells “Globes” that in the field of international shipping, there has still been no clear instructions from the authorities in Ankara. “Any connection to Israel is prohibited,” the source says, stressing that loading goods destined for the Palestinian Authority is also prohibited.

International shipping giants like MSC and Maersk, which unlike ZIM have no obvious direct connection to Israel, also await clear instructions on the matter, as the industry already understands that a ship’s flag does not guarantee that it will be allowed to dock at Turkish ports. “The new Turkish step is a focused measure against ZIM,” says the Israeli source.

Fifteen months after Turkey imposed a trade embargo on Israel, the country is expanding its anti-Israeli actions, and has decided to halt Turkish ships from sailing to Israel altogether. Ships with Israeli flags or those owned by Israelis are prohibited from docking in Turkey, while ships with Turkish flags are prohibited from docking in Israel.

The new Turkish regulations also include a ban on handling cargo destined for Israel, although this is not really relevant, because there is no reason why cargo that was loaded, for example, in Greece, on a ship sailing for Haifa to visit Turkey for reloading. Ankara has also instructed the many ports throughout Turkey that they must require ship-owners to sign a declaration that the vessels they own have no connection to Israel, and that they are not carrying military or other cargo to Israel.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 25, 2025.

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