Turkey has several ports and berthing facilities; The ports are classified into three groups: governmental, municipal and private ports.

The first group, general-purpose governmental ports, are operated by State Economic Enterprises. The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) ports, all of which are connected with the railway network. The Turkish Maritime Organization (TDI) ports. These two State Economic Enterprises are under the control of the Ministry of Transport, but they are activating as independent enterprises. In the headquarters of both organizations, there is a separate Department of Ports, which is responsible for planning and their coordination. Each individual port is managed by a Port Manager appointed by the related State Enterprise. These ports are "full-service" ports. All the services to ship and cargo are given by the port own labor and equipment. Main services given by the ports.

The second group are municipal ports which are managed by the Municipalities. These ports are comparatively small and are general limited to a small volume of coastal traffic serving the local needs of provincial towns.

The third group is made up of special private ports. These ports are mostly confined in purpose to the particular needs of industrial plant but allowed to use by third parties too.