Black Sea → Türkiye · wheat and barley
Charter a vessel for Black Sea grain to Türkiye.
For wheat and barley from Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian or Bulgarian ports to the Marmara, the Aegean or Türkiye's Mediterranean coast. CharterDeck's AI ranks the handysizes open nearby on ballast, laycan and the Turkish discharge berth, and prices the whole voyage; your broker on our Istanbul desk then negotiates with the owners and fixes the ship.
- Russia supplies most of it
- Russian wheat made up 3.86 million of the 4.1 million tonnes Türkiye imported from June 2025 to January 2026.
- Short-sea, handysize trade
- Short voyages through the Turkish Straits; most Russian grain exports move on handy-sized ships.
- A desk on the route
- Brokers in Istanbul who work the Turkish ports and the Straits every day.
How AI keeps a short Black Sea–Türkiye voyage tight
On a short voyage, a day lost to ballast, a missed laycan or a berth that does not fit costs more, in proportion, than on a long haul. CharterDeck's AI screens for exactly that:
- Ranks the handysizes open in the Black Sea and the Marmara by their ballast to your load port, so the ship is close as well as cheap
- Tests every ship against your laycan with the ballast counted, which decides more on a short run than the rate does
- Matches draft and size to the Turkish discharge port, whether it lies in the Marmara, the Aegean or on the Mediterranean coast
- Works out the cubic intake for barley, which needs more space per tonne than wheat
- Shows the voyage cost beside the freight, including the EU ETS share when the cargo loads in Romania or Bulgaria
Cargoes moving from the Black Sea to Türkiye
Most of the wheat Türkiye imports comes from Russia, and the volume depends on the harvest and on import policy. Imports fell from 9.3 million tonnes in 2023/24 to 3.26 million in 2024/25 while the government restricted them, and reached about 4.1 million tonnes between June 2025 and January 2026, according to Turkish statistics reported by the US Department of Agriculture. The cargoes on the route:
- Milling wheat from Russian ports, the bulk of the flow
- Wheat imported under the inward processing regime, milled in Türkiye and re-exported as flour to markets such as Iraq, Syria and Somalia
- Barley from Russia, Romania and Ukraine in 2025/26; a 130 percent tariff is expected to keep imports low in 2026/27, apart from transshipment cargoes
Which ships fit a Black Sea–Türkiye parcel
Most Russian grain export volume moves on handy-sized ships, which is why the freight benchmarks for the region are set on them. A handysize is the usual starting point for a Türkiye parcel; the quantity, the stowage factor and the Turkish berth decide the ship:
| Ship | When it fits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Handysize | Most wheat and barley parcels into Turkish ports | Draft and length at the mill or terminal berth; cubic space for barley |
Grain to bring from the Black Sea to a Turkish port? Send the cargo and get ranked handysize options.
Send your cargoWhat changes the voyage economics
- Ballast from the ship's open position, which can be a large share of the cost of a short voyage
- The Straits: a Marmara discharge port means a Bosphorus transit, an Aegean or Mediterranean one means both straits
- The discharge port itself: the same cargo makes a very different voyage to the Marmara than to İskenderun
- Import policy: Türkiye's import rules have changed from season to season, moving demand and the timing of cargoes
- State reserve sales: TMO began selling wheat from its reserves on 1 September 2026, earlier than expected, which can reduce import demand in the short term
- War-risk insurance for the Black Sea load port
- EU ETS on cargoes loading in Romania or Bulgaria, and none on Russian or Ukrainian loadings
- Discharge rates and laytime at the mill berth, which count for a lot on a short voyage
What your broker does on a Black Sea–Türkiye fixture
The shortlist narrows the ships; your broker turns one of them into a fixture:
- Checks the Turkish discharge berth with the receiver and the owner before a ship is proposed
- Agrees war-risk cover and the owner's trading limits for the Black Sea load port
- Times the fixture to the receiver's schedule and any delivery deadline at the Turkish end
- Negotiates freight, laytime and demurrage with the owners of the open handysizes
- Works with Turkish receivers, agents and owners in Turkish and English, from our Istanbul desk
What we need from you
- Cargo: wheat, barley or other grain, and its specification
- Quantity and tolerance
- Load port in the Black Sea
- Discharge port in Türkiye
- Laycan, and any delivery deadline at the Turkish end
- Load and discharge rates or terms
- Stowage factor, especially for barley
Questions, answered
- Which ships usually carry Black Sea grain to Türkiye?
- Mostly handysizes, the ships that carry most Russian grain exports. The quantity, the stowage factor and the Turkish berth decide the actual size, and we check each candidate against them before proposing her.
- Do Türkiye's wheat import rules affect chartering?
- They change demand and timing. Imports fell sharply in 2024/25 while the government restricted them and have since resumed, including milling wheat brought in under the inward processing regime for flour exports. Your broker times the fixture to the receiver's plans.
- Can you handle the Turkish side of the fixture?
- Yes. Our desk is in Istanbul and works with Turkish receivers, agents and owners in Turkish and English, from checking the discharge berth to settling laytime and demurrage.
- Is Black Sea grain to Türkiye affected by the disruption at Russian ports?
- Yes. Loadings at Russia's main deep-sea grain terminals fell after attacks on shipping and ports escalated in late July 2026. The load terminal, the war-risk cover and the owner's limits are settled before the ship is fixed.
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