IMEAK Chamber of Shipping’s New Board Sets Out Maritime Priorities During Ankara Visit

IMEAK Chamber of Shipping’s incoming leadership used a visit to Anıtkabir to set out a broad ambition for Turkey’s maritime sector: to become one of the world’s leading maritime countries in the 21st century. Board Chairman Recep Düzgit put that goal at the center of a message he signed during the delegation’s visit to the mausoleum in Ankara on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.

The delegation included members of the chamber’s 11th Term Assembly and Board of Directors. It represented the Istanbul and Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black Sea regions. The visit combined a formal ceremony with a statement about the direction the new leadership says it intends to pursue in its work.

A maritime goal in the visitor book

After laying a wreath and observing a moment of silence, Düzgit and the delegation went to the National Pact Tower. There, Düzgit signed the Anıtkabir Special Book, connecting the chamber’s maritime ambitions with the principles and aspirations associated with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

In the message, Düzgit cited Atatürk’s direction that maritime affairs should be treated as a major national ideal and pursued promptly. He said the chamber’s goal of surpassing the level of contemporary civilizations, displayed at its building entrance, guides its work toward a stronger position for Turkey in global maritime activity.

That framing gives the statement a practical focus beyond the ceremony: maritime development is presented as a long-term objective for the sector and the country. The message does not identify specific projects, investment plans, performance targets, or timelines. Its emphasis is on the chamber’s stated direction and the responsibility its leaders associate with representing maritime businesses across several regions.

Düzgit also referred to the chamber’s duty to preserve the Republic and pass it on to future generations. He described that responsibility as one the new Assembly and Board would carry out with determination. The note closed with a respectful tribute to Atatürk and those who established an independent homeland.

Leadership group attends the ceremony

The party was led by Düzgit and Assembly Chairman Tamer Kıran, alongside members of the Board. Vice Chairmen Barış Dillioğlu and Refik Yavuz Kalkavan attended, as did Board Treasurer Ahmet Can Bozkurt. Board members Burak Akartaş, İsmail Görgün, Kemal Akbaşoğlu, Haluk İribaş, Mustafa Aslan, Serdar Akdemir, and Orbay Şimşek were also present. The chamber’s secretariat accompanied the group.

The delegation walked along the Lion Road to the mausoleum before laying its wreath and holding the moment of silence. The sequence of the visit, followed by Düzgit’s written message at the tower, placed the board’s public statement alongside the formal acts of remembrance.

What the statement signals for the sector

For shipping companies and other maritime businesses, the message offers a sense of the incoming leadership’s priorities at a high level. It points to a desire for Turkey to hold a leading place in maritime activity and ties that ambition to the chamber’s role across the regions it represents. It does not spell out how the board plans to advance that goal or which parts of the sector it will prioritize.

That distinction matters for readers looking for operational changes. The visit announced no new service, facility, funding commitment, staffing measure, or timetable. The concrete development is the leadership’s public articulation of its maritime objective, rather than a change to shipping operations or a newly named program.

The next useful signal will be how the chamber translates that ambition into its work with members. Future details on priorities, programs, or measurable targets would show where the board intends to focus across Turkey’s maritime regions. For now, Düzgit’s message establishes the direction the incoming leadership wants associated with its term: a stronger maritime position, pursued as a sustained sector goal.