Turkon Line’s Chief Executive Officer Akın Kalkavan drew attention to Turkey’s export records and said, “We think that our proximity to important markets and our product and service quality are effective in our country breaking export records almost every month in 2022.”
Alkın Kalkavan, Turkon Line’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), told Anadolu Agency (AA) about the maritime transport sector that the disruption of the supply chain during the pandemic caused an imbalance between supply and demand, however, a serious increase in demand emerged.
Stating that Turkey has come to the forefront in terms of world supply chain and maritime transport, Kalkavan said, “Turkey’s proximity to markets such as Europe, Asia, and Africa and its position as an important exporter for the USA also make our country stand out in terms of maritime trade. Its geopolitical position has made our country a good alternative market, especially for the USA and European countries for the recently closed Chinese ports.”
Expressing that Turkey’s proximity to important markets and product and service quality are effective in breaking export records almost every month, Kalkavan said, “In this respect, we think that Turkey will be a preferred country in the coming periods and that it will maintain the momentum it has achieved in exports.”
Emphasizing the intensity in the ports, Kalkavan used the following statements:
“Within the scope of Covid-19 measures, with the ports not working at full capacity, insufficient port infrastructures, insufficient inland transportation, and closures in China, ships arriving at the ports began to line up to unload their cargo. These lines got so long that the number of ships waiting at the ports of Los Angeles / Long Beach increased to over 100.
Similarly, there have been waits in many ports and they continue to be. Frankly, a capacity of almost 20-25 percent of the total container capacity is on the ships waiting in port.
For this reason, the lines that did not want to disrupt their services had to procure new ships and equipment by taking various risks. This mobility in the market puts pressure on maritime transport. Good management of this pressure, taking the right decisions and applying them will shape the future of the industry.”
Kalkavan stated that the 1Q of 2022 was a period when uncertainties came to the fore for the whole world and said:
“We left behind a very difficult quarter with the deterioration in the supply chain, the continuation of port congestion to a certain extent, the closures due to the ‘Zero-covid’ practices in China, the increasing inflation concerns all over the world, the addition of the Russia-Ukraine war and rising energy costs.
In the relevant period, we made a serious effort to support our customers and maintain our service quality. In this period of intense uncertainty and turmoil, making the necessary investments by taking risks and responding to customer needs was an important test for the industry.
The fact that the factors we have mentioned are still valid, causes uncertainty in the market for the coming periods. Of course, to support our exporters, we continue on our way without compromising customer satisfaction by taking the necessary actions in this difficult period, as it has been for 25 years.”
“Prioritization of environmentally friendly fuel types will now be one of the most important agendas of the industry”
Expressing that the maritime transport sector has started to develop environmentally friendly solutions within the scope of the 2050 carbon-neutral target led by the European Union (EU), Kalkavan continued his words as follows:
“As of 2023, the carbon emissions of ships will be measured. In addition, the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI), which includes the technical features of the ships within the scope of the Green Agreement, will begin to be implemented. Due to these practices, taking various measures such as using scrubbers to reduce the emission amount of ships, reducing ship engine speeds, and prioritizing environmentally friendly fuel types according to the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) criteria in newly built ships will now be one of the most important agendas of the industry.
Frankly, we, as Turkon Line, are proud of being a pioneer in our sector and breaking new ground by using scrubbers on our ships in the past years as a result of our environmentally friendly policies. In the coming years, we will follow the environmentally friendly practices closely and continue our mission of being the pioneer of this transformation.”