Koji Sekimizu, the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, who came to Istanbul for the 7th Golden Anchor Awards Ceremony, watched the vessel traffic on the Bosporus from the helicopter together with Recep Canpolat, the Chairman of the Turkish Maritime Magazine and the Golden Anchor Awards Ceremony, Esra Sarıkeçe, the Editor of Ulaştırma (Transportation) Newspaper and Sevnur Çakmak, the External Relations Manager of the Golden Anchor Awards Ceremony and the Turkish Maritime Magazine. Recep Canpolat stated that annually 55 thousand foreign vessels and additionally 2 thousand local vessels pass the Bosporus, to which there is no other alternative water way can be found.
Recep Canpolat also stated that 10 thousand ships carry almost 150 million tons of hazardous materials over the Bosporus strait, and he said there are over 5 million people living in the Bosporus coast. Mr. Canpolat said every ship that goes though Bosporus changes it’s course at least 12 times in this 17 mile long strait and he said that the narrowest place in the Bosporus is between Aşiyan and Kandilli and it is 698 meter long.
Because of Montreux convention, carriers does not obliged to take pilots on their ships, and because of this requesting pilots on Bosporus is around 50 percent, hearing this IMO Secratery General Koji Sekimizu did not conceal his surprise.
KOJI SEKIMIZU BRIEFED ABOUT TUZLA SHIPYARDS
Traveling through Tuzla Shipyards with a helicopter, IMO Secratery General Koji Sekimizu briefed by Mr. Canpolat. Mr. Canpolat said there are 51 facilities around Tuzla Shipyard Region; he said 27 of these facilities are shipbuilding yards, 18 maintenance facilities for vessel and gear and 6 cooparative non coastline business places. Later that day, helicopter went to the anchorage area a little offshore of the Ahırkapı and IMO Secratery General Koji Sekimizu, briefed about Marmaray one of the most prestigious projects of Turkey.
SEVNUR ÇAKMAK - TURKISHMARITIME AGENCY
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