Turkish marine industry seeks gov't support to fight crisis

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

31 Jul 2009

The Turkish marine sector has demanded the government's help in overcoming the adverse effects of the ongoing global financial crisis. Mersin Chamber of Shipping (MDTO) Chairman Cihat Lokmanoğlu said Wednesday that the Turkish marine sector needs urgent support from the government, emphasizing that investors could not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. “The current crisis has left us amid uncertainty. The shipbuilding sector in particular is suffering from a heavy contraction in business,” Lokmanoğlu noted. Recalling that the government has introduced incentives for many sectors in the past few months, he said similar packages should be developed to help stabilize the marine sector. The marine industry is of strategic importance in the global economy since it carries the burden of cargo transport and Turkey should strengthen its hand in this field, the MDTO head said. Globally, some 95 percent of an annual 8 billion tons of freight is transported by ship while 90 percent of oil is carried by ships. “Turkey also sends 86 percent of its exports goods by ship to international markets,” he added. Lokmanoğlu said that although the country is surrounded by seas on three sides, Turkey's marine sector has not developed to the desired level and this problem should be addressed. “The global marine sector, particularly the shipbuilding industry, is in real trouble. Many investors have no choice but to leave the market. Only last year, Turkish shipbuilders had difficulty meeting the demand from both local and global markets; however, today they are idle because many customers have cancelled orders.”

Source: Today’s Zaman