The 34th regular council meeting of the Istanbul and Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, Black Sea Regions (İMEAK) Chamber of Maritime Commerce Kocaeli Branch for the month of July was held in the branch council hall under the chairmanship of Council President Vefa İbrahim Aracı.
The agenda topic of the July council meeting was ‘Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Maritime Sector.’ The meeting was attended by Eastern Marmara Customs and Foreign Trade Director Fatih Yalçınkaya, Kocaeli University (KOÜ) Faculty of Maritime Dean Prof. Dr. Nalan Tekin, Prof. Dr. Ergin Ulutaş from KOÜ Faculty of Engineering Geophysical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Aykan Karademir from KOÜ Faculty of Engineering Environmental Engineering, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgün Yücel from Gebze Technical University Faculty of Engineering Chemical Engineering, GEMİMO Accountant Board Member Chief Engineer Dr. Murat Akpınar, Eastern Marmara Customs Consultants Association President Sadi Vatan, Private Maritime Courses Association (ÖZKENKURDER) President Ramazan Ulaş, educators, NGO representatives, and maritime stakeholders.
Doğusel: Tourism development on Kandıra coasts fills us with pride
In his opening speech at the council, İMEAK Chamber of Maritime Commerce Kocaeli Branch Board President Vedat Doğusel stated, “The progress our province Kocaeli has made in tourism, especially with significant steps in recent years, fills us with pride. Kocaeli, one of the most important points of winter tourism in the Marmara Region, has also been standing out in maritime tourism in recent years. Particularly, Kandıra beaches have become an attraction center with easier access to the region. Undoubtedly, becoming an attraction center brings forth new demands. When it comes to Kandıra, we must acknowledge that our people have expectations in the accommodation sector. Therefore, there is a need for more qualified venues and strong promotions for tourists. We firmly believe that the business world, with the encouragement of local governments, will take steps to address this gap.”
“Kocaeli is progressing steadily toward becoming a maritime city”
Emphasizing that Kocaeli is a maritime city at every opportunity, Vedat Doğusel said, “We are delighted that Kocaeli is taking strong steps toward becoming a maritime city together with our governorship, local governments, university, and chambers. We are beginning to reap the fruits of our efforts in every field, from port operations to fishing, water sports to tourism. We will continue working tirelessly in this field. I once again thank all our institutions and organizations that have not withheld their support on this path.”
Doğusel: We thank TOBB for the Breath Credit
Speaking about the ‘Breath Credit’ initiative recently launched under the leadership of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) to facilitate SMEs’ access to finance, President Doğusel said, “We see great interest in the Breath Credit implemented by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey. These credits, ranging between 1 million and 2.5 million liras, with a 6-month principal and interest-free period and a maximum maturity of 36 months, will be a lifeline for our businesspeople. For this reason, we thank our Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey Board President M.”
“We thank Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, our TOBB Vice President, and our IMEAK DTO Chairman Tamer Kıran.”
“Derince leads in exports in the first six months”
Providing information on Kocaeli Port statistics, Doğusel noted: “According to data from the Eastern Marmara Customs and Foreign Trade Regional Directorate, our exports in the first six months of this year reached $21.566 billion, while imports amounted to $39.479 billion. In the first six months, our customs gate with the highest exports was Derince at $9.795 billion, followed by İzmit with $5.414 billion in exports. In imports, Derince and Dilovası customs gates topped the list. Imports at Derince Customs Directorate amounted to $17.437 billion, while Dilovası Customs Directorate recorded $11.778 billion in imports. The taxes collected by the Eastern Marmara Customs and Foreign Trade Directorate in the first six months totaled 284 billion 986 million lira. In June 2025, exports saw a 10% decline compared to the previous month, while imports showed no significant change.”
“3,750 ships visited Kocaeli”
Sharing data on Kocaeli ship statistics, Chairman Doğusel stated: “In the first six months of 2025, a total of 3,750 ships visited Kocaeli, including 1,076 Turkish-flagged ships and 2,674 foreign-flagged ships. Of all ships visiting Turkey, 15.8% were in our province of Kocaeli. Loading operations handled 15.993 million tons, while unloading operations handled 26.285 million tons. In total, 42.218 million tons were handled, accounting for 16.9% of Turkey’s total. In container handling, our province ranks second nationwide with 1,333,429 TEU.”
Fatih Yalçınkaya
Yalçınkaya: We are here to solve problems
Following Vedat Doğusel, Fatih Yalçınkaya, Director of Eastern Marmara Customs and Foreign Trade, took the podium. Yalçınkaya said: “Since the day we took office, we have strived to listen to the concerns of all NGOs, universities, and the academic world at large, and we will continue to do so. The government’s door is now the people’s door. We must demonstrate the ability and will to resolve any issue locally before it escalates or grows. And we have that capacity. Since the day I took office, my directive has been: if there is a problem, it will be addressed, and if something can be done, it will be resolved. We are not here to create problems but to solve them. We are taking very successful steps in this regard with our Kocaeli Branch of the Chamber of Maritime Commerce.”
“We are launching a pilot region application”
Sharing another important update on Kocaeli ports, Yalçınkaya said: “In recent weeks, various technical delegations from our headquarters visited. I can also announce this: We are launching a pilot application to expedite entry and exit procedures at our ports. God willing, we will soon bring the pilot application for accelerating entry and exit processes, similar to Mersin Port, to our city. I announce this here as well. I also want to share a second piece of good news. As a result of our initiatives, an ‘Export Academy’ will be established in our city through a collaboration between Kocaeli University Rectorate and our ministry. It will be the second in Turkey after Istanbul Marmara University. If there are no setbacks, the protocol will be signed in September.
“This is also an initiative that our person has brought to our region.”
“We demanded the establishment of a commission related to ports and maritime affairs.”
Yalçınkaya, who stated that he had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Transport regarding port operations and the maritime sector, continued his remarks as follows: “Just as there is a General Directorate of Maritime Affairs within the Ministry of Transport, we emphasized the necessity of establishing a commission related to ports and maritime affairs within the general directorate of customs. A verbal study was accepted regarding the need to specify the standards and operational processes related to this. God willing, we will also reap the fruits of this in written form in the coming stages. Here’s what I observed in Kocaeli: although the city has a maritime history dating back a thousand years, unfortunately, its maritime culture has not developed sufficiently. Now, if we want to compete internationally with the world, I am among those who believe that we need to allocate more budget to maritime affairs in terms of logistics. I believe that whatever falls upon us, we will overcome it together through collaboration.”
The 34th Ordinary Council Meeting of the IMEAK Chamber of Maritime Commerce Kocaeli Branch concluded after presentations by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgün Yücel from Gebze Technical University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, on ‘Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Maritime Sector,’ and Ramazan Ulaş, Head of the Special Seafarers Training Course, on ‘Seafarers Training Education/Courses,’ followed by members sharing their sectoral views and suggestions.
Özgün Yücel
7DENİZ
