HATAY, T rkiye: Dozens of cargo containers were on fire for the second day running on Tuesday February 7 in T rkiye's quake-hit southern port city of Iskenderun, shutting down operations and forcing freight liners to divert vessels to other ports.
Since 5 pm on Monday, the blaze at the International Port of Iskenderun has raged after one of its containers was toppled over from aftershocks after the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake, Hurriyet daily reported.
Images broadcast by the NTV news channel showed thick black plumes of smoke billowing from the containers.
Another video showed a failed attempt to put the fire out on Monday night.
The terminal at the Iskenderun complex is closed until further notice, and some cargo areas of Limak port are still on fire, according to Turkish shipping agency Tribeca.
The global container shipping group AP Moller Maersk said in an advisory on Tuesday that there had been significant damage to logistics and transport infrastructure around the earthquake epicentre, including at the Port of Iskenderun.
There was a change of destination for all bookings bound for the port or already on the water, and it was looking to divert ships as needed due to the severe structural damage. We are currently planning to divert containers to nearby hubs within operational feasibility or hold at transhipment ports - including Port of Mersin in T rkiye and Port Said in Egypt.
German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd said it was taking shipments from Mersin as a result of the closure of Iskenderun.