İMEAK Chamber of Shipping's tree planting event in Istanbul saw 22,000 saplings planted, promoting environmental protection and unity in the maritime sector.
The 'Maritime Memorial Forest' sapling planting ceremony organized by the İMEAK Chamber of Shipping was held on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in the Çekmeköy district of Istanbul, in an area along the Şile Road, with a large turnout. During the event, a total of 22,000 saplings were planted in an area of 120 acres.
The ceremony was attended by Tamer Kıran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the İMEAK Chamber of Shipping, Board and Assembly Members, Branch Presidents, heads of supporting organizations, representatives of the maritime sector, and their families.
“We are working decisively to protect our seas and coasts”
In his speech at the ceremony, Tamer Kıran emphasized that as representatives of a community that earns its livelihood from the seas, they view the seas not only as an economic activity area but also as a vital living space that needs to be protected.
Kıran stated, “With this understanding, while acting with the responsibility to protect not only today but also tomorrow, we closely follow all national and international developments and work decisively for the protection of our seas and coasts.”
“We are not just establishing a forest here today”
Kıran noted that beyond being the umbrella organization of the sector, the Chamber of Shipping is the strongest representative of unity, solidarity, and collective intelligence, and he said that the significance of the event further enhanced the strong solidarity of the sector.
He expressed that the symbolic saplings planted on behalf of 43 supporting organizations are concrete indicators of unity and common goals, and he made the following assessment:
“The names of our esteemed institutions in the sector in front of each sapling will be the engraved tokens of this solidarity in the soil. Today, we are not just establishing a forest here. We are building a memory, a mark, a breath that will be left for future generations. We believe that every good deed done for nature will reach the future exponentially. I hope that this step we take today will be a strong contribution to making our tomorrows greener, cleaner, and more livable.”
Symbolic sapling planting and breakfast program
Tamer Kıran thanked all supporting organizations and contributors who supported and participated in the event.
As part of the program, symbolic sapling planting was carried out on behalf of the supporting organizations, and a breakfast program was organized for the participants following the ceremony.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
