Explosion at Turkish port of Kocaeli
On Monday 7 August, the port of Kocaeli was hit by an explosion.
The port was the largest Turkish port in 2022. It has a cargo throughput of 83 million tonnes.
The explosion of the port of Kocaeli occured at 14:35 local time. According to the initial investigations, it was caused by the compression of wheat dust during the transfer of wheat from a ship to a silo.
13 grain silos were affected by the blast. The Turkish Transport Ministry said port operations were continuing after the necessary precautions had been taken.
This incident is reminiscent of the one in the port of Beirut in 2020.
The silo explosion comes at a time when food security is under threat. Following the end of the Grain Deal between Ukraine and Russia, cereal exports have slowed down. The disappearance of available grain due to an explosion could therefore raise major problems.
