MDTO: A Historical Overview of Mersin Maritime Developments

Since March 1989, Cihat Lokmanoğlu, who has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors without interruption, has handed over his duties to the newly elected Captain Berdan Doğan. For the first time in 37 years, the Mersin Chamber of Shipping held elections with two lists, and the winner of the race between the White List, which included Captain Berdan Doğan as a presidential candidate, and the Blue List, which included Murat Uçar as a presidential candidate, has been determined.

On October 14, 1986, Captain Berdan Doğan, a graduate of the Maritime Academy, began his duties as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDTO. Thus, Cihat Lokmanoğlu and his team, who had continuously served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDTO for 37 years since its establishment, have left the MDTO management. The story of the past 37 years has turned into a history that needs to be told.

Remaining on the board for 37 years

As the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDTO, Cihat Lokmanoğlu may be considered a world record holder in his field!

Who were the board members 37 years ago and what happened to them?

The Mersin Chamber of Shipping (MDTO) was established in March 1989. Among the members of the Chamber's board, Abdulkadir Hadra, Albert Botros, Hanri Atat, İlyas Soysal, and Remon Kumdereli have passed away. From the first Board of Directors, Ali Ay, Haldun Kancaal, Jan Taşçı, and Semir Tınaz remain.

By going back half a century, I have written various articles about some portraits of people I knew in İskenderun and Mersin during those years, and with whom I had very close friendships. I have made a summary quotation from one of these articles;

The Historical Structure of Ship Agents in Mersin

The ship agents whose establishment dates back to the 19th century in İskenderun and Mersin show that the demographic roots are predominantly from Ottoman cities like Aleppo and Beirut, where people settled in these port cities. This table I mentioned belongs to half a century ago.

The distinguished leader of the rooted shipowners and agents in Mersin was Mr. Hanri Atat. Hanri Atat's family migrated from Beirut to Tarsus in the early 1800s and moved to Mersin in the early 1900s. He was born on January 28, 1929. He completed his high school education in Beirut and later studied at Mersin Trade High School. He served in the military as a reserve officer. After working at Akbank and Ziraat Bank, he established his own business in 1963 and married Aline Zehil in 1970. In 1986, he became the Honorary Consul of Denmark. Mr. Hanri Atat brought life to the Mersin Chamber of Commerce, Mersin Cultural Center, and Mersin International Music Festival; he made significant contributions to many schools, hospitals, Diabetes Centers, universities, opera houses, and cultural centers; he was involved in all kinds of social “charity” work. When he passed away on July 22, 2003, he was a Mersin resident who had become synonymous with the city. As his name suggests, Hanri Atat was not a Muslim; in accordance with Mersin's traditions of tolerance, he was buried as a Catholic by a priest from the Catholic church, while a religious scholar also recited the Quran at his grave.

From Mersin, Remon Kumdereli

I also knew Mr. Remon Kumdereli. He was an extremely gentle person. He was a lover of Mersin. He was a friendly person.

Remon Kumdereli, one of the founders of the Mersin Chamber of Shipping and a former council president, passed away in Mersin on April 18, 2010, and his funeral was held on April 19, 2010, at the Mersin Orthodox Church, after which he was buried in the city cemetery.

From Mersin, Albert Botros

The story of the Botros family goes back to the time of the French architect Ferdinand de Lesseps, who opened the canal in Suez during the reign of Egyptian Viceroy Said Pasha. After Ferdinand de Lesseps established the International Suez Canal Company in 1858, he continued the excavation works connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The canal was inaugurated by French Empress Eugénie in 1869. The nearest forest area to meet the timber needs for the construction of the Suez Canal was obtained from the forests around Mersin. The Botros family came to Mersin from Beirut during the construction of the Suez Canal to meet the timber needs for the construction. At that time, there were pine forests created by pine trees in the mountains behind Mersin. Iskender Botros and his assistants would go to the mountains, cut logs from the pine trees, and slide them down the mountain with ox carts, bringing them to the shore in Mersin. The logs were then loaded onto ships from there and shipped to Suez. Thanks to the efforts of Iskender Botros from Mersin, he became a respected name in this coastal town.

The third-generation Aleks Iskender Botros recalled the family story as follows: “My grandmother Juliette Nader came to Mersin with her family from Beirut. My mother Annie Guetcherian’s side, on the other hand, migrated from Tarsus, where they were born and raised in Turkey, to Lebanon in the 1910s. My father Albert Botros was born in Mersin in 1933. After completing his middle and high school education in Beirut, he continued his studies in England for a while to learn English. After finishing school in England, my father returned to Mersin to take over the family business, but unfortunately, he passed away at a very young age.

My father Albert Botros met my mother in Beirut, and their friendship resulted in a happy marriage. After a while, they moved to Mersin. In 1954, after completing his higher education in Lebanon and London, my father Albert Botros returned to Mersin and started working with his father Iskender Botros. At that time, the company continued its activities under the name “Iskender Albert Botros Shipping and Trade Ltd.” After Albert Botros passed away in 1996, the management of the company was taken over by his son Aleks Iskender Botros.

Rinaldo Levante was the Mersin and Istanbul agent of the Navigazione - Assucurazione insurance company. The company was located on Bankalar Street. After Rinaldo Levante passed away in 1990, his son Davide Levante, despite his extremely successful work in the field of tourism passenger shipping with a shipping agency named Levante-Mar, tragically ended his life in 1999 due to a crisis.

Enrico Levante, born in Mersin in 1908, worked with his father at Emilio Levante Successori shipping agency. From his marriage to Rosy Rickards, he had a son named Emilio in 1937. From Emilio's marriage to Maryse Chalfoun, they had four children named Edmondo, Marco, Claudia, and Jennifer. Jennifer Levante married Fadi Sayek, joining the famous Sayek family from İskenderun. Claudia married Michel Chachati from the renowned Chachati family in Mersin. The trademark rights of Levante Successori were sold to the Arkas Group, chaired by Lucien Arkas.

In 1943, he was born in Istanbul as the son of Fehami Bey and Hacer İman Hanım. He graduated from Robert College and completed his higher education in Business Administration in the United States. He spoke English, French, and German. His father, Fehami Kuzeyman, who was the Chief Inspector of Turkish Maritime Enterprises, was assigned to Mersin. After resigning from his position, Fehami Bey established the Mersin branch of the Turkish Maritime Organization and opened the Maritime Agency. Erkut Kuzeyman also worked with his father. After his father's death, he took over the business and expanded it by taking on the agency for foreign ships. He entered the transportation sector and established a “Transportation Fleet.” Along with his father Fehami Kuzeyman, he was among the first board members of the “Mersin Maritime Transporters Association.” He consciously started sports at Galatasaray High School and was appointed head of the Basketball Branch. When he came to Mersin, he became the President of the Demirspor Club and ensured that Demirspor became the champion of İçel for many years. On February 3, 1975, he married Nevin Hanım from Tarsus.

In 1986, Erkut Kuzeyman, who was very saddened by Tarsus İdmanyurdu's missed championship due to a goal scored in the last minutes of the match against Salihlispor in Isparta, fell ill and began cancer treatment. Although he was not from Tarsus, he was as much a “Tarsus lover” as any Tarsus resident. He passed away on April 21, 1991. His grave is in Mersin.

M. Cihat Lokmanoğlu, born in Mersin in 1954, completed his middle school and first and second years of high school at TAC-Tarsus American College, and his third year of high school at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California. After graduating from Cornell University (USA) in 1976 as a Civil Engineer, he completed his master's degree at the same university in 1977 and became a “Civil Engineer.”

Between 1986 and 1990, he served as a Board Member of the Mersin Shipowners and Agents Association and remained in the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of MDTO from its establishment in March 1989 until October 2026 for 37 years. M. Cihat Lokmanoğlu, who was a TOBB Delegate, was a member of the TOBB High Coordination Board and the TOBB Arbitration Board. After the elections held in 2018, he took on an active role within TOBB as a Board Member and Co-Chairman of the Turkish Side of the Turkey TRNC Chamber of Commerce Forum. Between 2000 and 2018, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mersin Free Zone Operator Inc. (MESBAŞ). He has been actively involved in ship agency and cold chain maritime transportation in his professional field.

His company, C.B.A. Maritime Affairs Transportation Storage Service Tourism Trade and Industry Inc., is known in the region under the brand name CBA Cold Quay, primarily in logistics, cargo, and cold storage.

The Mersin Maritime Transporters Association

In Mersin, Shipowners and Agents established the Mersin Maritime Transporters Association for the first time in 1972. This association was officially recognized by the Mersin Province with the letter dated November 26, 1972, and numbered 117. The first board members of the association were; President Fehami Kuzeyman, Vice President Jorj Şaşati, General Secretary Ksenofon Tahinci, Member Treasurer Hanri Atat, and Members Romolo Babini, İskender Şelfun, and Albert Botros. The association held its first meeting at Catoni Maritime Agency and consisted of 12 founding members. These members were; Fehami Kuzeyman Shipping Agency; Erkut Kuzeyman and Fehami Kuzeyman and son Fehami Kuzeyman Co. Ltd.; Jorj Şaşati; İbrahim Nakkaş and Associates; Hanri H. Atat Atako Trade Co. Ltd.; Ksenefon Tahinci Antuan E. Makzume Shipping Agency; Romolo Babini Emilie Levante Halefleri; Jorj Şelfun Catoni Maritime Affairs Inc.; Emilio Levante Scandinavian Shipping Agency; İskender Şelfun Shipping Agency; İlyas Soysal Shipping Agency; Nikola Zeliç Lyonel Makzume Shipping Agency.

The process that began with the Istanbul Chamber of Shipping, why MDTO - Mersin Chamber of Shipping

Chambers and Exchanges affiliated with TOBB were established under the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Law numbered 5590 dated March 8, 1950, and while members of the maritime sector were joining different chambers, the need for maritime representation as a separate chamber in Turkey led to the establishment of Maritime Chambers with the amendment made by Law numbered 2567 dated December 24, 1981, in the Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges Law. Subsequently, with the approval of the Ministry of Commerce dated May 4, 1982, and numbered 14 (630.2/201) 21262, the “Istanbul Chamber of Shipping” was established on August 26, 1982. Initially established as the Istanbul Chamber of Shipping with 744 members, the Chamber has continued its activities with increasing effectiveness. Due to the universality inherent in maritime trade and the needs it requires, the Istanbul Chamber of Shipping aimed to expand its activities to include our provinces bordering the Sea of Marmara, and later the Aegean and Mediterranean, and finally, in May 1989, our provinces bordering the Black Sea. In this process, the Istanbul Chamber of Shipping opened branches and representations in various port cities in the Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean, and Mediterranean, and became known as the “Istanbul and Marmara, Aegean (excluding Mersin), Mediterranean, Black Sea Regions Chamber of Shipping.”

Why did negativity occur in Mersin and why

Was the Mersin Chamber of Shipping established in 1981?

Ziya Kalkavan, as the Speaker of the Assembly, wanted to travel to Mersin and İskenderun and contribute to the organization of the Chamber in these port cities. However, despite the efforts of leading figures in maritime trade in Mersin and the approvals of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Mersin Chamber of Shipping was established in 1989. Among these names were Abdulkadir Hadra, Albert Botros, Ali Ay, M. Cihat Lokmanoğlu, Haldun Kancalı, Hanri Atat, İlyas Soysal, İrfan Solmazer, Jan Taşçı, Mişel Şaşati, Erkut Kuzeyman, Remon Kumdereli, and Semir Tınaz.

The establishment of a second independent chamber of shipping after the Istanbul DTO is due to a reverse phenomenon according to the rules of international chambers of shipping.

I hope that the current Chairman of MDTO, Captain Berdan Doğan, and his colleagues will read and evaluate these lines. What I will write describes the days I witnessed from a vital perspective; during the organizational efforts of the Chamber of Shipping along the Turkish coastal cities, Ziya Kalkavan, who was the Speaker of the Assembly, took a step in his own cultural and leadership world and first visited Mersin and then İskenderun. Since he wanted me to be present during this visit, I witnessed the events in both coastal cities.

We first flew to Adana for Mersin. Some of the local dignitaries from Rize or the Black Sea region, who had settled in Mersin, came to the airport to welcome Ziya Kalkavan. We traveled to Mersin in a very large Buick car. As I remember, Ziya Kalkavan was chatting with the Black Sea dignitaries in the entrance hall of a Sülün Han in Mersin, and since it was lunchtime, we enjoyed lahmacun around a quite large wooden table.

In his speech, he requested the Black Sea tradesmen to work for the organization of the Chamber of Shipping in Mersin. After leaving Mersin, we arrived in İskenderun in the same Buick car. They had reserved a room for us in a hotel. Ernest Boutros welcomed us in İskenderun. In the evening, he invited us to a countryside restaurant in Belen. There were also some young members of maritime firms in İskenderun at the table. Mr. Ziya Kalkavan was very pleased with this visit and explained the importance of organizing the Chamber of Shipping in İskenderun. These words were received positively, and over time, the İskenderun branch of the Chamber of Shipping would be established.

However, Ziya Kalkavan's visit to Mersin and the request for the organization of the Chamber of Shipping in this port city from the Black Sea tradesmen caused a backlash. The members of the only existing maritime organization in Mersin at that time, the Shipowners and Agents Association, reacted to not being consulted and felt somewhat sidelined.

Some time later, when I went to Mersin, I witnessed the first meeting of a separate chamber of shipping formation. This meeting was held one night under the presidency of Hanri Atat, the president of Atako and a respected professional, at the headquarters of the Shipowners and Agents Association in Sülün İşhanı.

I would describe it as a narrow, long small room. In this room, they had gathered around a medium-sized long table, and Hanri Atat was presiding from the left end. As years have passed, I may remember incorrectly: At this meeting, there were names like Remon Kumdereli, Mişel Şaşati, Erol Kuzeyman, İrfan Solmazer, Jan Taşçı, Albert Botros, Cihat Lokmanoğlu, and others.

In the discussions, Ziya Kalkavan's visit to Mersin and the speeches from that day were recounted, and their feelings of being sidelined turned into resentment. Towards the end, the idea of establishing a separate chamber of shipping in Mersin emerged, and the idea of establishing the Mersin Chamber of Shipping gained weight. In fact, a decision could not be made for a short time!

When this decision was heard in Istanbul, it caused deep astonishment and even some members reacted. Eventually, to address the negative sentiments within the maritime community in Mersin, a four-member delegation headed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Shipping, Hilmi Sönmez, went to Mersin. An unrelated incident also occurred there: Hilmi Sönmez had requested a telephone-equipped car to be found for him while coming from Adana to Mersin. Mr. Hanri Atat learned of this request and sent his own car to Adana. This incident also caused a reaction among the shipowners accompanying him, as they said, “How could we let someone who is against us ride in the car…” I remember the rumors. However, they went there to resolve misunderstandings. This also did not yield results, and in 1989, MDTO, abbreviated as the Mersin Chamber of Shipping, was legally established.

I would like to remind you of

Source: SeaNews Türkiye