Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu opened the Ören Boat Manufacturing and Boatyard, the construction of which was completed in Muğla. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Uraloğlu said that Turkish maritime, which was overwhelmed by the tax burden and was on the black list until 2008, was transferred to the white list with the inspections and practices implemented.
Minister Uraloğlu stated that the Turkish Flag has taken its place among the most prestigious flags in the world maritime industry and said, “Until 2002, there was a shipyard activity that was almost exclusively confined to Tuzla, Istanbul. Turkish bayraklı the ships were blacklisted. There was a maritime industry overwhelmed by tax burdens. But as AK Party governments, we said stop to this trend. Since 2002, under the vision and captaincy of our President, the son of a sea captain, we have taken very important steps and policies to improve the fortunes of our sailors and pave the way for them. We moved to the white list in 2008 with the controls and practices we implemented, and we have been on the white list since then. "The Turkish Flag is among the most prestigious flags in the world in the maritime industry," he said.
WE IMPLEMENTED SCT-FREE FUEL APPLICATION
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they implemented the SCT-free fuel application in order to share the burden on our sailors and said, “Since 2004, we have reduced the SCT amount to zero for ships carrying cargo and passengers registered in our registry, commercial yachts, service and fishing vessels. "To date, we have provided approximately 11 billion lira of SCT-free fuel support to the sector," he said.
CONTAINER PORTS IN KOCAELİ AND MERSİN ARE AMONG THE TOP 100 PORTS IN THE WORLD
Minister Uraloğlu said, “Today Türkiye; Container ports in Tekirdağ, Ambarlı, Kocaeli and Mersin, which handled 217 million tons of cargo and 543 million teu containers in 12,4 ports, were among the top 100 ports in the world. With its 85 active shipyards, it ranked 7th in the world in ship orders and 45,7th in the world with its maritime trade fleet reaching 12 million deadweight tons. "It is among the world's leading maritime countries with more than 1 million amateur sailors and 138 thousand seafarers," he said.
SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY EMPLOYS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
Stating that the shipbuilding sector makes significant contributions to the increase in employment in our country with its labor-intensive nature and wide field of activity, Minister Uraloğlu continued as follows;
“The number of employees in this sector, which has increased employment significantly, has reached hundreds of thousands. When evaluated together with sub-industry workers, we are talking about a giant sector that provides a source of income for many people. I would like to express with pleasure that the Turkish shipbuilding industry; It has a respected place in the world with its features such as using the latest technologies, being environmentally friendly, high quality and faithful to its commitments and completing the job on time. We have developed policies that will spread our shipyard business to all our coasts and paved the way for our private sector representatives. If we look at our sector from past to present in terms of numbers and capacity; We increased the number of shipyards from 2002 in 37 to 85, and our annual production capacity from 550 thousand deadweight tons to 4,8 million deadweight tons. The maintenance and repair volume in our shipyards increased by 10 percent in the last 129 years, reaching 35 million deadweight tons. "The competitiveness of our ship industry is increasing day by day with its ability to use innovative, environmentally friendly and alternative energy, and it contributes greatly to the country's economy with its foreign exchange earnings."
IT BECAME THE HIGHEST EXPORTING COUNTRY IN FISHING SHIP BUILDING, LEAVING SPAIN BEHIND
Minister Uraloğlu also emphasized that Turkey, which has taken action especially in the construction of fishing vessels, is the country that exports the most, leaving its rival Spain behind, and said, "Our shipbuilding industry, which continues its work without slowing down to maintain its leadership, provides fishing and live production to the leading countries in the world's fishing industry." It has become a fish transport vessel exporter. Turkish engineers have undertaken many innovative projects such as the world's first hybrid fishing vessel, the largest live fish transport vessel, a full electric ferry, an LNG-hybrid-electric tugboat, and a catamaran energy ship. "Dear boat manufacturers, today we see that the demand for yachts is increasing," he said.
IT IS THE SHINING STAR OF Türkiye'S SUPERYACH INDUSTRY
Minister Uraloğlu said, “I would like to proudly state that our country is the shining star of the world superyacht industry” and included the following statements in his speech:
“Our country, which has an important position in the global market in the yacht construction sector, ranks third in the world, especially in terms of mega yacht construction, after Italy and the Netherlands. Izmir Çaltılıdere Boat Manufacturing and Boatyard Project, which is coordinated by our Ministry and will become the largest boat manufacturing site in Europe, continues at full speed. Our Bartın Kurucaşile Boat Manufacturing Site Project has also been implemented and started its activities.”
EMPLOYMENT AREA FOR 4 THOUSAND PEOPLE WAS PROVIDED
Ören Boat Manufacturing and Boatyard, which was opened; Minister Uraloğlu stated that it will carry out boat manufacturing and boating activities in 275 hangars on an area of 2 thousand m16, with 32 cooperative member operators, and added: “The employment of 4 thousand people in this area will be a source of income for the people of the region and our country. It is planned to produce 60 boats annually, depending on their size. “Good luck,” he said.
OUR NEW MARINA PROJECT WORKS CONTINUE IN THE AEGEAN REGION
Evaluating the situation of marinas, which are an important part of yachting, in our country, Minister Uraloğlu said, “We have the capacity to moor and shelter 63 thousand 25 yachts in 38 marinas and yacht docking areas. We plan to exceed this capacity with the investments we will make. We will obtain a mooring capacity of 5000 boats with our ongoing project work to build new marinas in the Aegean Region. We are continuing to work on a project to build a new port in Fethiye for cruise ships as well as marinas. On the other hand, our amateur sailors also receive many requests for mooring and sheltering places for their private boats. "In this context, apart from the marina concept, we are implementing works with our stakeholders that aim to increase the boat mooring capacity by shortening the permit approval process and reducing the investment cost," he said.
OUR SEA IS OUR “BLUE HOMELAND”
Minister Uraloğlu said, “As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we will work more effectively to further develop our maritime, increase the opportunities provided by our seas, and bring their resources into the economy. Because for us, maritime is not just an occupation, it is culture and power.
Our seas are our "BLUE HOMELAND". We all know very well that the position our maritime has reached today is thanks to the importance our state attaches to our maritime and the stakeholders of the sector. Look, as a result of all these positive developments, last week, our country was elected for the 13th time in a row, receiving the highest vote in its history, in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) council membership elections. Another good development for our industry is that “Türk Loydu” became a member of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). "This development will increase Türk Loydu's influence at the international level and contribute to the Turkish maritime sector and ship industry having a greater say," he said.
Following his statement, Minister Uraloğlu held the opening ceremony of Ören Boat Manufacturing and Boatyard by cutting a ribbon, and started the process of towing ships from the sea by pressing the button.