A Turkish news service said operations had “come to a halt” following the official takeover by their new owners, the PSA-Akfen joint venture Mersin International Port Management Inc (MIP).
The Turkish Daily News said all activities at the port had stopped and that nine ships carrying raw materials had not been allowed to dock.
“We are unable to export or import,” Nejat Kocer, board chairman of the local chamber of industry, was reported as saying.
But a source close to PSA-Akfen's MIP told Portworld: “We are facing the normal volume of teething problems that come with every transitional period in any takeover, but it is an error to say that operations have come to a halt."
The PSA-Akfen consortium won a 36-year concession to operate the port in August 2005, but faced delays taking over operations due to objections to the privatisation.
The consortium officially took over the port from the Turkish state authorities on May 11.
The Turkish Daily News said all activities at the port had stopped and that nine ships carrying raw materials had not been allowed to dock.
“We are unable to export or import,” Nejat Kocer, board chairman of the local chamber of industry, was reported as saying.
But a source close to PSA-Akfen's MIP told Portworld: “We are facing the normal volume of teething problems that come with every transitional period in any takeover, but it is an error to say that operations have come to a halt."
The PSA-Akfen consortium won a 36-year concession to operate the port in August 2005, but faced delays taking over operations due to objections to the privatisation.
The consortium officially took over the port from the Turkish state authorities on May 11.