LaycanDeskTurkiye to East Africa bitumen freight - Aliaga, Izmit and Iskenderun to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Colombo
Bulk bitumen on heated tankers and drummed bitumen on multipurpose ships from the Turkish refinery coast, with Umm Qasr as a second load area, into the Indian Ocean. Aliaga, Izmit and Iskenderun, with Umm Qasr as a second load area, to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and Colombo: bulk bitumen on heated tankers of 3,000 to 15,000 dwt and drums on multipurpose ships, a new lane priced against Gulf drums plus the Suez passage, with the loading refinery named before any owner is asked.
Turkiye is the largest declared bitumen exporter in the region, shipping 1.48 million tonnes in 2025 (UN Comtrade), almost all of it west to Togo, Belgium and France; none of it reaches Sri Lanka, Kenya or Tanzania in the declared tables, which is what makes the Indian Ocean a new lane rather than an established one. The receiving side is drum-scale and supplied from inside the Gulf: Sri Lanka imported 62,819 tonnes in 2025, 59 percent from Bahrain and 37 percent from the UAE; Kenya 39,850 tonnes in 2024, of which only 1,508 tonnes were Turkish; Tanzania 57,956 tonnes in 2024, with Spain and the United Kingdom already supplying a quarter of it at a premium for named-refinery product. Mombasa mostly receives bitumen in drums, so the physical trade is drums and bitutainers on multipurpose and general cargo ships from Aliaga, Izmit, Iskenderun and Mersin, and bulk on heated tankers of 3,000 to 15,000 dwt into terminals with heated storage, with Umm Qasr as the second load area. Suez adds seven to ten days against a Gulf loading.
A bitumen enquiry on this lane is fixed on the grade, the quantity, the loading refinery and its berth, the receiving terminal and whether it has heated storage, the laycan, the freight basis and the buyer or seller who charters. The loading refinery is asked first, because the origin of the cargo and the ship's recent trading decide whether an owner will load at all, and a cargo offered without a named refinery is not put to owners. Drums go to the operators of multipurpose and general cargo tonnage open in the Marmara, the Aegean and the East Med; bulk goes to the owners of heated bitumen carriers on the Gulf and Med trades. The 13 September sweep sighted 161 hulls at Izmit, 109 at Aliaga, 101 at Iskenderun, 50 at Umm Qasr, 73 at Mombasa, 76 at Dar es Salaam and 131 at Colombo. Every counterparty and ship is screened before an offer. We work by email.
Load ports
- Aliaga (refinery, bulk and drums)
- Izmit (refinery, bulk)
- Iskenderun and Mersin (drums, bitutainers)
- Umm Qasr (second load area, Iraqi origin)
Discharge ports
- Mombasa (mostly drums; Uganda and Rwanda inland)
- Dar es Salaam (drums and bulk; Zambia, DRC, Malawi inland)
- Colombo (drums and small bulk parcels)
- Also Djibouti and Nacala on the same enquiries
Cargoes
- Bulk bitumen 60/70 and 80/100 on heated tankers, 3,000–15,000 t
- Drummed bitumen 2,000–10,000 t on MPP and general cargo
- Bitutainers and polymer-modified bitumen
- Sri Lanka 62,819 t (2025), Tanzania 57,956 t and Kenya 39,850 t (2024), UN Comtrade
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
Bulk or drums for East Africa?
Mombasa mostly receives bitumen in drums, and so do Colombo and most of the Dar es Salaam trade, because heated storage is scarce. Bulk on a heated tanker is cheaper per tonne where the terminal has it. Tell us the receiving terminal's storage and we look for the right ship.
What parcel sizes work on this lane?
Drums and bitutainers in lots of 2,000 to 10,000 tonnes on multipurpose and general cargo ships, often as part cargo; bulk in 3,000 to 15,000 tonne parcels on heated bitumen carriers. Sri Lanka's whole market is about 5,000 tonnes a month, so parcels there are small and regular.
Why do you ask for the loading refinery first?
Because a bitumen cargo is defined by the refinery that made it, and owners and their insurers ask where the ship loads before they fix. Turkiye's declared exports go west, so an Indian Ocean offer from a Turkish port is checked on its refinery and origin paperwork before it goes anywhere.
How does the Suez passage compare with a Gulf loading?
Aliaga or Iskenderun to Mombasa via Suez is roughly seven to ten days longer than a UAE or Bahrain loading, so the lane is priced against Gulf drums plus that passage. Tanzanian buyers already pay a premium for European named-refinery product, which is what makes a Turkish loading workable there.