The April Assembly Meeting of the IMEAK Chamber of Shipping (DTO) was held yesterday (Thursday, April 7, 2022).
The meeting, which was held with physical participation at the Büyük Kulüp in Çiftehavuzlar, was chaired by Salih Zeki Çakır, President of the Assembly of IMEAK DTO.
Tamer Kıran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of IMEAK Chamber of Shipping, said that while we are happy that we have eliminated Covid-19, which has harmed human and social life, economy, and trade for more than two years, we maintain very good neighborly relations in the Black Sea, and a war broke out between our foreign trade partners, Russia and Ukraine.
Noting that Turkey is making great efforts to end the war between the two countries, Tamer Kıran said, “We follow with appreciation the intense efforts of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to establish peace by keeping in constant contact with the leaders of both countries. Our country’s hosting of peace negotiations between the parties, one in Antalya and the other in Istanbul in March, draws attention as the most concrete indicator of these efforts. The winds of peace blowing in the last meeting held in Istanbul increased our hopes for the future. I hope common sense will prevail at a time when the world needs calm, this war will end as soon as possible, and it will be possible to re-establish peace and stability in the Black Sea as soon as possible.”
Stating that the war harmed the maritime sector, Tamer Kıran said that these problems were caused by the Turkish-owned ships and their personnel stranded in Ukrainian ports, the security threat posed by the mines placed on the Ukrainian shores and detached from their places, the exorbitant insurance coverages for ships that intend to continue their trade with the region or are stranded in the region, and the measures, sanction decisions and restrictions announced by the USA, the United Kingdom and the European Union against Russia, as the difficulty of doing business in the region with each passing day.
Pointing out that the number of ships under the control of Turkish ship owners and operators in Ukraine’s various ports is 22, the number of Russian Federation flagged ships in our ports has increased considerably, Tamer Kıran said, “Due to the situation in the Black Sea, our Turkish-owned ship fleet is considering withdrawing from its commercial activities in the region. This is primarily due to security concerns, insurance guarantees, and lastly the hesitations of Turkish ship owners or operators about possible sanctions.”
Tamer Kıran stated that as DTO, they continue to hold contacts in close cooperation with all relevant ministries to ensure the safe continuity of maritime trade in the region, they aim to be able to take control of maritime commercial activities again by ensuring the security of our Turkish-owned fleet that will operate in the region and solving insurance guarantee problems.
Tamer Kıran said:
“For this, a maritime corridor must be created for our Turkish-owned ships stranded in Ukrainian ports and a total of 174 maritime workers, 83 of whom are Turkish citizens, on our ships, and they must be safely exited from the war zone. Mines and similar elements detected in the Black Sea that poses a threat should be cleared, and a safe ship passage corridor should be established in Turkish territorial waters to ensure maritime trade security. The Russian Federation’s detention of Turkish-owned ships passing through the Kerch Strait and causing them to suffer should be stopped. Measures should be taken to ensure the safe continuation of maritime trade with the ports of Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and our ports in the Black Sea.”
Tamer Kıran stated that the cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Naval Forces Command, and the Coast Guard Command continues on all these issues, and said, “As I witness the admirable efforts of our ministries to solve the problems, I would like to express my thanks to the officials of our administration.”
Shipping Markets
Tamer Kıran stated that after the generally positive developments in the maritime markets in February, the Baltic Dry Cargo Index decreased by 12.3% in March to 2069, the Tanker Index BDTI (Baltic Dirty Tanker Index) decreased by 11.7% to 1279 and the Drewry Container Index decreased by 12% to 8152.
Stating that the global ship fleet has reached 2.2 billion DWT with an annual increase of 2.7% at the end of March 2022, Tamer Kıran said that the Dry Cargo Ship fleet has 952.2 million DWT, the Container is 295.3 million DWT (24.9 million TEU on a TEU basis) and the total Tanker is 656.3 million DWT.
Stating that most of the attention in the maritime sector focuses on the possible effects on commodity prices and marine demand, with the macroeconomic outlook focusing heavily on the potential effects of inflation, Tamer Kıran said, “However, inflationary trends were very obvious in the shipbuilding sector have also seen the sharpest increase in new construction prices in almost two decades. The New Shipbuilding Price Index reached its highest level since June 2009, increasing by 25 points on an annual dollar basis, with 156.17 points as of the end of March.”
Sectoral Topics
Tamer Kıran stated that a development that is very closely related to our members, especially those who are engaged in marine tourism, in March, was the investment and operation tenders for eyebolt and buoy systems for mooring boats to Göcek bays by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. He said that they are concerned that the public interest will disappear since it is obvious that the services to be provided in return for the high prices in the tenders that have not been decided yet will come to very high prices.
Explaining that they have been going to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate to express their concerns several times, Tamer Kıran said, “We shared our opinion that it would be right to carry out this work from a single source, with a structure that includes local governments and those who make a living in this region, as well as NGOs. We are following the process carefully, and we hope that a new regulation will result in a result that will benefit the public.”
Tamer Kıran stated that another issue they are following carefully is the issue of declaring the Sea of Marmara as a Special Environmental Protection Area (SEPA), adding that the ports, the shipyards located in Tuzla and Yalova, and the shipbuilding industry related to them, fishermen’s shelters, marinas, and even all structures within the Sea of Marmara and the coastal line are now within the scope of this law. Tamer Kıran said, “I can say that we are faced with an implementation that goes far beyond its purpose. It is another question mark how the General Directorate of Natural Heritage Conservation will cope with such an intense workload with its current structure. Due to its importance, we brought the issue to the agenda at the Istanbul Chambers and Stock Exchange Joint Meeting held on March 29 and brought it to the attention of other sectors. I would like to reiterate that we will continue to be a sensitive and careful follower of this important issue, which I think we will start to hear more often from now on, without leaving the scientific side.”
Stating that he wanted to share the good news about the industry, Tamer Kıran noted that with the “Presidential Decree on Amending Some Presidential Decrees” published in the Resmi Gazete (Official Gazette) dated April 7, there were positive changes that closely concern the industry and that our Chamber would inform about the changes. Kıran added that as a result of the DTO’s attempts to increase the Income Support within the Scope of Free Travel in Seaway Public Passenger Transport, the monthly income support to be provided for each ship within the scope of free travel in maritime public passenger transport has been increased from 1000 TL to 1500 TL.
Stating that the 102nd anniversary of the establishment of our Turkish Grand National Assembly and the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day will be celebrated on April 23, Tamer Kıran remembered the first President of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and all martyrs and veterans with mercy and gratitude, congratulate the children’s day.
Tamer Kıran, who celebrated the month of Ramadan and the qadr night that will be understood in it, wished the blessed days and nights to bring peace to our hearts, blessings to our work, blessings to our family, country, and the Islamic world, and that our prayers be accepted.
Tamer Kıran wished that the following Ramadan Feast will bring happiness and peace to our nation and our people and that many holidays will be reached on health and well-being.
At the meeting, Prof. Dr. Ragıp Kutay Karaca, Director of Istanbul Aydın University Graduate Education Institute, made a presentation on “The effect of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the world political system and maritime affairs”.
Iftar Meal Was Made
Following the assembly meeting, a traditional fast-breaking dinner was held at the same place, organized by the IMEAK Chamber of Shipping, the Turkish Shipowners’ Association, and the S.S. Shipowners’ Motor Carriers Cooperative.