Turkey Becomes the Country That Exports the Most Fishing Vessels

Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, pointed out that the amount of ship maintenance and repair in shipyards has increased by 10 percent in the last 95 years, and that the employment rate in the shipbuilding sector has reached approximately 115 thousand people with an increase of 80 percent. Karaismailoğlu said, “Overcoming its rival Spain in 2020, Turkey became the country that exports the most fishing vessels” and noted that Turkey ranks 1,5th in the world in the ship recycling industry with a capacity of 4 million gross tons.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu spoke at the Fishing Boat Launching Ceremony; “Today, we are proud of the launch of the 'fishing vessel' named Ergün Reis A, which is 46 meters long, 17,5 meters wide and 994 gross tons, produced by Başaran Gemi Sanayi, one of the pioneers in the export of fishing vessels in our country, in the sea city Çamburnu Shipyard. We will all witness together. Our ship, which we will meet with water, is a good example of our domestic and national ship industry that produces all over the world in every class.”

Noting that as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, they have taken stronger steps in their areas of responsibility and have made very important moves to increase the benefit Turkey provides from its seas, Karaismailoğlu said that thanks to innovative and visionary transportation investments, they have increased the share received from maritime trade and the economic benefit of the seas to Turkey.

"Of course, we are proud of our ship industry, which strengthens our presence in our seas with domestic and national capabilities," said Karaismailoğlu and continued his speech as follows:

“Investing in our coastal cities is key to increasing the benefits we derive from the sea. The investments we have made in our region, as the Ministry, have a large place in the steps we have taken to turn the Black Sea into a Turkish Trade Lake. During our governments; We have made very important investments in our maritime sector in our region. Many of our projects are currently ongoing. 440 manufacturers operate in our Yeniçam Shipyard, which is 11 thousand square meters in total. In this field, 300 of our brothers are also employed. Shipbuilding continues for many European, Asian and African countries in our shipyard where maintenance and repair of our fishing boats of all tonnage and other vessels can be carried out. We support the economic development of the region with our investments in line with our holistic development approach.”

TURKISH AVIATION WILL ACHIEVE ITS 58TH AIRPORT

Two days later, on May 2, a new indicator of engineering achievements; Emphasizing that the Rize-Artvin Airport, which is the world's number one and Turkey's second airport built with sea filling, will be opened with the presence of President Erdogan, Karaismailoğlu said, “Turkish aviation, which has become a global power thanks to our practices, policies and regulations, will reach its 14th airport. We have completed our Rize-Artvin Airport, which was built on an area of ​​2 million square meters, which is unique in Europe. Our airport will meet the transportation needs of our Eastern Black Sea region, where road transportation is difficult due to its geographical features, with a capacity of 58 million passengers per year, in a faster and more comfortable way. We offer our Rize Artvin Airport, together with Trabzon Airport, to all countries bordering the Black Sea, beyond Turkey, and to the Middle Corridor, one of the most important trade routes between Asia and Europe, in short, to the service of the world.

THE BLACK SEA WILL BE THE TRADE LAKE OF EURASIA

Underlining that the Black Sea will be the trade lake of Eurasia in the next 10 years, Karaismailoğlu said, “All Black Sea countries, which foresee the increasing commercial traffic of the Black Sea and the gains they will gain from it, have accelerated their port investments and started feverish preparations. Being the winner of the race for dominance in the Black Sea will suit us more than anyone else. As the government, we attach special importance to the shipbuilding industry due to its contribution to employment and the added value it provides to our economy. We support this importance with concrete steps. I would like to express with peace of mind that the Turkish ship industry; It is a sector that uses the latest technologies, has a high environmental awareness, has a good knowledge and experience, sticks to its quality and time commitments, and has a respected place in the world.

2 FISHING SHIPS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IN OUR SHIPYARDS IN THE LAST 131 YEARS

Pointing out that they have made serious innovations in the shipman and documentation processes with the support of the IT sector, Minister of Transport, Karaismailoğlu, stated that the contribution of the ship industry to employment and the country's economy has increased significantly. Expressing that the ship industry's ability to use innovative, environmentally friendly and alternative energy is increasing day by day, Karaismailoğlu made the following evaluations;

“With the rational policies followed by our governments since 2003, we have increased our shipyard capacity from 0,55 million DWT to 7,5 million DWT by 4,65 times. In addition, the amount of ship maintenance and repair in our shipyards has increased by 10 percent in the last 95 years. The employment rate in the shipbuilding industry has increased by 115 percent in the last ten years, reaching approximately 80 people. Having surpassed its rival Spain in 2020, Turkey became the country that exports the most fishing vessels. While 2 fishing vessels have been completed in our shipyards in the last 131 years, we continue to build 59 vessels. Along with the world's first hybrid fishing vessel, the world's largest live fish transport vessel has the signature of Turkish engineers. We export fishing vessels to Norway, Iceland, Ireland and England, which are at the forefront of world fisheries. Turkey ranks 1,5th in the world in the ship recycling industry with a capacity of 4 million gross tons.”

WE ACCELERATED OUR WORK TO MAKE OUR COUNTRY A SHIPPING COUNTRY

Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that they are working hard to make Turkey, which is covered with seas on three sides, effective and have a say in the blue homeland, and that they continue to work, “We accelerated our efforts to make our country a maritime country. In 2003, the Turkish-owned merchant marine fleet exceeded 9 million debts; rose to 31 million seniors today. We are proud to increase the amount of cargo handled at our ports from 190 million tons to 526 million tons. In the January-April period of 2022, the amount of cargo handled at our ports increased by 6,6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to 180 million 590 thousand 500 tons. Likewise, the amount of containers handled at our ports in the January-April period increased by 4,1 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 4 million 254 thousand 531 TEU. In the January-February period of 2022, the monetary share of maritime transport increased by approximately 29 percent compared to the same period of the previous year and rose to 82,3 billion dollars. All the projects I have shared so far are the embodiment of the promises we have made in 20 years. As the AK Party government, we see service to the public as service to God, and we are developing our goals as a man of our word and a servant of our nation.

WE HAVE PLANNED THE FUTURE 30 YEARS IN THE SITE OF MARITIME

Karaismailoğlu, who underlined that they are planning 30 years ahead, not today-tomorrow in the maritime field, as they do in every field, in order to entrust the new Turkey to the youth in the strongest way possible, adding that they are planning to further develop Turkey's maritime in every field with rational approaches, common mind and state sensitivity. He said the plans were made. Transport Minister Karaismailoğlu said, “In this context, I would like to summarize our targets that we promised in our 2053 Transport and Logistics Master Plan. We will increase the number of port facilities to 255. We will expand green port practices. We will use highly renewable energy sources in our ports. Autonomous ship voyages will be developed and handling efficiency will be increased with autonomous systems at ports. While increasing the transfer service capacity of the ports, we will develop the multi-modal and short-distance maritime transport infrastructure that can serve the countries of the region. With the Canal Istanbul Project, ship traffic will be reduced in the Bosphorus; and navigational safety will be increased,” he concluded.