Metin Kalkavan, President of Chamber of Shipping, speaking at Mare Forum

 Turkey’s shipping industry needs state support in order to be more competitive in the future, Metin Kalkavan, chairman of Turkish Chamber of Shipping said in Istanbul Tuesday. But in a written statement, one of the largest labor unions of Europe accused the sector of putting profits before workers’ lives.

Speaking at the Mare Forum Istanbul 2009, Kalkavan noted the industry itself was already heavily investing in shipping education. "Turkey has a tremendous future ahead of it with its 20 million students. Investment in education will give us not only more seafarers but also future ship owners and managers. What is now needed is further support for the industry," Kalkavan said.

Lessons taken from the 2001 crisis

Tuesday’s forum brought together a number of leading players from international shipping and the energy sector to discuss competitive advantages in global shipping.

Turkey is among the countries that are standing strongest in the current crisis, Kalkavan said. "Turkey learned a lot from 2001 and set down rules for its banking sector that is saving it from the current crisis. Today, it is in a much stronger position than in 2001, for example in terms of its budget deficit, which in 2001 was 45 percent and today around 3 percent. Many countries could learn from the way Turkey rebuilt its financial system after 2001," he said.

"This crisis is one of the biggest the world has ever seen and it will not be easy to come out of it. We are trying to weather the crisis with as little damage as possible. Of course, the crisis will cause some damage to us all, but recovery will start once we reach the deepest point," Kalkavan said.

Batu Aksoy, vice chairman of Turcas Petroleum, underlined Turkey’s dependence on energy imports and noted the sector hoped the government would pass a new energy law shortly. Aksoy is also an executive board member of Turkey’s Petroleum Platform Association, or Petform.

Turkey’s gas demand is forecast to increase by 63 percent from 35 billion cubic metres to 57 billion cubic metres between 2006 and 2015. "At present Turkey is 93 percent dependent in external oil sources and 97 percent dependent on imported natural gas. It is therefore of utmost importance to increase local sources in the future," he said. Private investors and Turkey’s energy sector hope the government pass new energy laws in the near future. "A new law would increase exploration activity significantly - the current law dates from the 1950s. There is a need for a liberalized energy market in Turkey," Aksoy added.

Releasing a press statement on the Mare Forum Istanbul meeting, European Metalworkers’ Federation, or EMF, said Turkey had established itself in the top 10 of shipbuilding countries,

But this expansion has come at a huge cost. "Thirty shipyard workers lost their lives during 2008. The total body count in Tuzla has risen to 120 over the past 17 years," EMF said, noting that "a system of large-scale subcontracting to cope with the massive order intake of recent years, unsafe working conditions and a blatant disregard for occupational safety regulations" continued to put workers’ lives and safety in the yards at risk.

The union called on major Turkish ship owners and shipyard owners to ensure that "profits are not put before workers’ health and safety." "The Turkish shipbuilding expansion must crucially involve basic workers’ rights, improved working conditions, training and adequate health and safety provisions for all shipyard workers," the statement said.

"Existing regulations must be rigorously enforced."