A vessel that does not berth can still be supplied, usually at anchorage or on a slow pass through a strait, by launch or barge, provided the order, timing and sea conditions are coordinated well in advance.
What transit supply means
Transit supply covers any delivery to a vessel that is not alongside a berth: at anchorage waiting for a berth or orders, drifting or slow-steaming through a strait or approach channel, or passing a port without calling at all. Provisions, spare parts, lubricants and mail are delivered by launch, and in some cases by helicopter for urgent or remote cases, rather than carried across a gangway from the quay. For an owner or operator, the appeal is straightforward: a vessel that would otherwise sail past a supply opportunity entirely, or lose hours slowing down and diverting to a berth, can instead be replenished without materially disrupting its schedule.
For vessels transiting a busy waterway such as the Turkish Straits, this kind of supply is routine and well established, since a significant volume of traffic passes without ever calling at a berth in Istanbul or Çanakkale.
The same principle applies to vessels waiting at anchorage for a berth to become free, for cargo instructions, or for bunkering to be arranged elsewhere in the port. Time spent waiting is time a vessel would rather not lose entirely, and arranging supply during that wait, rather than treating it purely as dead time, is one of the more practical uses an owner or master can make of an otherwise unproductive stretch of the voyage. Even when the length of the wait is uncertain, contacting a supplier early means the vessel is ready to act the moment a workable window opens rather than starting the conversation only once it does.
Planning the delivery window
Because there is no fixed berth to work around, the delivery window is built around the vessel's position and speed instead. The supplier needs an accurate ETA at the agreed rendezvous point, current course and speed, and a channel of communication that stays open as the vessel approaches, typically VHF plus a mobile or satellite contact confirmed in advance.
Sea state and weather matter more here than for alongside delivery, since the launch has to come alongside a moving or drifting vessel and transfer goods safely. A supplier experienced in transit delivery will have a clear view of what conditions are workable and will say so honestly rather than attempt a transfer that puts crew or cargo at risk.
It is worth agreeing in advance what happens if conditions on the day are borderline: whether the attempt is postponed to a later slot within the same transit, held until the vessel's next port call, or reassessed closer to the time once a clearer weather picture is available. Settling this ahead of time avoids a rushed decision being made under pressure with the launch already loaded and waiting.
What can and cannot be delivered this way
Most provisions, stores, spares and documents that can be handled by a small crew and loaded by launch are suitable for transit delivery. Bulky items, large equipment requiring a crane, or goods needing formal customs clearance at a berth are generally not practical this way and are better planned for the vessel's next alongside call.
Bunkers can also be supplied at anchorage by barge in many ports, which is a related but separate operation from stores and provisions delivery and is usually arranged and scheduled independently.
Documents travel well by launch too, which is useful for anything the vessel needs signed, stamped or exchanged without berthing, such as certificates, class paperwork or mail for the crew. This is a small but genuinely appreciated part of transit supply, since crew mail in particular is often the one thing everyone on board is quietly hoping arrives with the launch. Coordinating a document exchange alongside a stores delivery, rather than as a separate trip, is usually straightforward to arrange and saves both sides an additional launch run.
Coordinating with agent and port authority
Even without berthing, a transit delivery in most ports needs the port authority or coast guard to be informed, since a launch operating near a passing or anchored vessel is itself vessel traffic that needs to be accounted for. The agent, where one is appointed, usually handles this notification alongside the supplier's own permits and clearances.
Yeke arranges provisions, spares and lubricant deliveries to vessels at anchorage and in transit through the Turkish Straits, coordinating timing directly with the vessel and, where relevant, the appointed agent, so the delivery fits within the actual transit window rather than requiring the vessel to slow further than planned.
This coordination is one of the reasons a vessel is generally better served working through a supplier already established at that port or waterway rather than trying to arrange a one-off transit delivery from a supplier with no local presence, since the notifications, permits and launch scheduling are all things a local operator already has in place rather than starting from zero.
What the vessel should prepare on its own end
A smooth transit delivery is not only the supplier's responsibility. The vessel should have a crew member ready at the boarding point with fenders or a heaving line as agreed, lighting arranged if the transfer happens after dark, and a clear idea of who on board is authorised to check and sign for the goods once they are aboard, exactly as would be expected for an alongside delivery.
Communicating any last-minute change in course, speed or the rendezvous point the moment it is known matters even more here than in a routine port call, since the launch may already be underway to meet the vessel and has far less room to adjust than a vehicle waiting at a quay.