DTO Aliağa evaluates 2025 goals at the final council meeting, highlighting maritime trade growth and strategic initiatives.
The MEAK Chamber of Shipping Aliağa Branch held its final council meeting of the year, where the evaluation of 2025 and future goals were discussed.
The meeting, chaired by Council President İsmail Önal, was attended by İMEAK DTO Aliağa Branch Board Chairman Adem Şimşek, Aliağa Regional Port Authority President Günhur Şanlı, Aliağa Maritime Port Branch Director Kadir Sonocak, İMEAK Chamber of Shipping Education Commission Board Member İsmail Görgün, Deputy Secretary General Alper Keçeli, Council Members Burak Atasoy, Teoman Mustafa Akyol, and Education Director Bahadır Küçük, as well as Orbay Şimşek, Chairman of Şimşekler Ship Recycling Yard and Member of the Central Council of İMEAK Chamber of Shipping, along with branch council members.
The agenda of the December council meeting included evaluations of chamber activities, discussions on statistics related to Aliağa ports, and the economic performance of the region. After approving the minutes from the previous month's meeting and the unanimous acceptance of the October budget, the council continued with the presentation of the December activity report.
In his speech, Board Chairman Adem Şimşek provided insights regarding the sector during the 7th Joint Professional Committees Meeting and the November Council Meeting organized by İMEAK Chamber of Shipping in Sapanca on November 28-29, 2025. Şimşek expressed that these meetings, attended by branch management and state officials, were extremely productive in addressing current maritime sector issues, proposing solutions to relevant authorities, and strengthening sector-public dialogue.
Highlighting the strategic importance of maritime education, Şimşek thanked the members of the İMEAK DTO Central Education Commission for their contributions to the anniversary events of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology at Dokuz Eylul University, stating, 'The contributions of the educational community, which is the cornerstone of the vision of a Maritime Nation, hold great value for the region's maritime activities.'
In his evaluation regarding the January-November period of 2025, Şimşek emphasized that Aliağa ports continue to maintain their strategic and stable position in Turkey's maritime trade. He noted that the number of vessels visiting Aliağa ports in the first 11 months of 2025 was 5,701, indicating a 2.40% increase compared to the previous year, with Aliağa retaining its second position in Turkey, following Kocaeli.
Addressing ship traffic in the Aegean Region, Şimşek reported that during the same period, 1,221 vessels visited İzmir Port and 295 vessels visited Dikili Port. While Dikili Port experienced a 68% increase, İzmir Port saw a 13.58% decrease.
Regarding cargo handling data, Şimşek stated that in the first 11 months of 2025, 80 million 573 thousand 424 tons of net cargo were handled at Aliağa ports, compared to 77 million 992 thousand 685 tons during the same period last year, maintaining leadership in net tonnage with a 3.31% increase. He noted that in the last 20 years, the net tonnage handled at Aliağa ports has increased nearly threefold, reaching 85.5 million tons in 2024, with approximately 30% growth observed in the post-pandemic period, indicating sustainable development in terms of capacity, operational efficiency, and logistics infrastructure.
Şimşek reported that during the same period, 32 million 938 thousand 440 tons of loading were carried out, with Aliağa maintaining its leading position with a 4.45% increase in this area. He stated that in the first 11 months of 2025, 47 million 634 thousand 984 tons of unloading were performed, representing a 2.53% increase compared to the previous year, positioning Aliağa as the second port in Turkey for the highest unloading operations.
In the first 11 months of 2025, 1 million 577 thousand 208 TEUs were handled at Aliağa ports, and despite a 19.43% decrease compared to the same period last year, Aliağa retained its fifth position in Turkey. In total gross tonnage, 106 million 234 thousand 292 tons were handled, placing Aliağa second in gross tonnage handling after Kocaeli.
Evaluating export figures by customs, Şimşek stated that Aliağa Customs Directorate consistently maintains its position as the second largest customs point in Turkey in terms of export volume. He noted that Aliağa's export volume, which was 12.6 billion dollars in 2020, is targeted to reach 22 billion dollars by the end of 2025, aiming for an approximately 74% growth over five years. This projected figure for 2025 demonstrates Aliağa's strong and resilient structure amidst challenges in global trade, not just maintaining current capacity.
According to 2024 data, Şimşek stated that 34.2 million tons of exports and 51.2 million tons of imports were achieved at Aliağa ports, clearly indicating that Aliağa is a strong and integrated industrial ecosystem that processes raw materials into value-added products. He pointed out that Aliağa holds a stable and strategic share of around 8% in Turkey's total exports, predicting that Turkey's overall exports are expected to exceed 269 billion dollars by the end of 2025, with Aliağa's share projected to remain at 8.2% (22 billion dollars).
He also expressed that Turkey's total imports are expected to exceed 358 billion dollars in 2025, with Aliağa's share in imports estimated to be 3.8% (13.7 billion dollars), highlighting that these figures clearly demonstrate Aliağa as a net export center that exports much more than it imports, contributing positively to Turkey's current account surplus.
Following Adem Şimşek's speech, Orbay Şimşek, Chairman of Şimşekler Ship Recycling Yard and Member of the Central Council of İMEAK Chamber of Shipping, provided evaluations regarding the ship recycling sector, indicating that the sector, which has shown a decline in the number of ships and LDT over the past two years, is expected to close this year with a more positive outlook.
Teoman Mustafa Akyol, Member of the Central Council of İMEAK Chamber of Shipping, also a Substitute Member of the Board and Chairman of the Education and Employment Commission, began his speech by conveying the greetings of President Tamer Kıran and expressed his satisfaction at being elected as a council member during this period. Akyol stated that they embarked on the journey with the motto 'Leave no maritime school unvisited' with the support of the board and the president, noting that the number of maritime schools visited in the last three years has reached 60, and they continue their efforts to find solutions to the problems of these schools. He expressed that the strong support from the board has greatly contributed to their efforts, thanked all branches visited, and wished the participants a happy new year.
At the end of the meeting, Şimşek shared a New Year message, stating, 'As we leave behind the year 2025, we take pride in contributing to our country's growth and the development of the maritime sector. In 2026, we will continue to work with the same determination and resolve for our sector and region. I wish all our sector stakeholders and citizens a happy new year filled with health and success.'
The meeting concluded after the sharing of wishes and hopes.
Source: www.denizhaber.com
