Heavy haulage to Turkey: the key corridor towards the east
Turkey is doubly central to European project logistics: as a large target market for machinery, energy and infrastructure projects – and as the compulsory gateway for virtually all overland traffic towards the Caucasus and Central Asia. Oversize Transports, a brand of HSNK s.r.o., plans and runs heavy haulage and abnormal load transports of up to 200 tonnes to Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Gebze and project sites across Anatolia – in both directions, door to door.
Scope of services for transports to Turkey
- Feasibility study covering bridge load ratings, clearance heights and project-specific planning of the Bosphorus crossing
- Permit management: German road traffic regulations (StVO §29), special permits for all transit countries and from the Turkish authorities
- Low-loaders, semi low-bed trailers and modular trailers matched to the load and the route
- BF3 / BF4 escort vehicles (German escort classification) in Germany and the EU, escorting under Turkish national law from the border onwards
- Customs and transit handling: T1, TIR carnet, ATA carnet and handling within the EU–Turkey customs union
- Crane and loading coordination at the plant, the site or the port
How it works: feasibility, permits, transport
Once we have your enquiry we check dimensions, weight and centre of gravity against the actual route and identify critical points – town centres, bridges, toll stations, the strait crossing. You receive a fixed-price quote based on this feasibility study. We then apply for all permits, provide escort vehicles and steer the run with dedicated project management – available 24/7, with a status report at every border crossing, so the receiving plant, crane and installation team can time the arrival to the day.
Route and special features
The standard overland route runs via Austria or Hungary, Serbia or Romania and Bulgaria to the Kapıkule border crossing. In Turkey the infrastructure on the main axes is well developed; the demanding parts are town centres, mountain sections in eastern Anatolia and the crossing of the Bosphorus or the Dardanelles, which for heavy loads is planned project-specifically via approved bridges or by ferry. For very heavy or very tall packages we alternatively examine shipment from an EU port to Turkish ports such as Gemlik, Derince or Mersin with road transport from the quay. We also handle domestic Turkish heavy haulage between plants and construction sites, with local permit management.
Customs: customs union and proven procedures
A customs union for industrial goods exists between the EU and Turkey – for goods in free circulation, the A.TR movement certificate is normally used. Regardless of this, border clearance remains mandatory: export declaration in the EU, transit on a T1 or TIR carnet, import clearance in Turkey. For temporary imports – construction machinery, exhibition goods, test equipment – we use the ATA carnet. We prepare all documents before departure so that no avoidable waiting times arise at Kapıkule. For regular traffic we work with you to build an agreed documentation standard per product group, which every follow-up consignment then uses.
Hub towards the Caucasus and Central Asia
Turkey is also the first section of the Middle Corridor: traffic to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and onward across the Caspian Sea to Central Asia runs through Turkish territory – the sanction-free alternative to the northern route through Russia. If you deliver to Turkey today and extend to Baku or Aktau tomorrow, you are working with us on a corridor we command end to end.
Typical goods and costs
We regularly carry machine tools, presses, transformers, wind energy and power plant components, construction machinery and plant modules. Many of our customers are machinery and plant manufacturers with recurring deliveries to Turkish plants – for them we standardise permit and customs processes so that follow-up consignments start considerably faster. We first quote costs as a non-binding indicative range – depending on route, weight and permit situation – and, after the feasibility study, as a binding fixed price.