ISTANBULLIAN DISCOVERED THE SEA

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1 ISTANBULLIAN DISCOVERED THE SEA STANBULLU DEN Z KEfiFETT HAL S ÖZTÜRK stanbul Deniz Otobüsleri Genel Müdürü Dr. Ahmet Paksoy la dünyan n en büyük feribot filolar ndan birine sahip olan DO nun bugünkü durumunu de erlendirdik, yaflanan deniz kazalar ndan borsaya aç lma yat r mlar na kadar pek çok konuyu konufltuk... DO da bugüne kadar olan kazalar n istatistiksel de erlendirmesini yapabilir misiniz? Deniz yolu tart flmas z en güvenli seyahat. Yaflanan her kazadan dersler ç kar yoruz. Son yaflad m z kazadan sonra çok ciddi yapt r mlar getirdik. Bundaki tek amac m z stanbullu lar güvenli bir flekilde tafl mak. Gemilerimiz, bak m onar mlar m z, personel kalitemiz ve e itimlerimiz aç s ndan DO güvenilir bir flirket. Günde yaklafl k 1400 sefer yap yoruz. Y lda 500,000 in üzerinde sefer yapan bir flirket için oranlama yapacak olursak kazalar milyonda 0.7 ye denk geliyor. S f r hata esas na göre çal fl yoruz ama riskleri s f ra indirme flans m z yok. Ancak riskleri iyi yöneterek minimize edebiliriz. Ama flunu söyleyebilirim ki, bu tür kazalar bizim için milyonda birdir. DO nun tarihinde ölümlü kaza olmam flt r. fiehir hatlar n n al m ndan sonra çok büyük yenilikler yapt k. skele ve gemilerde büyük yenilikler ve onar mlar yapt k. Bizim birinci önceli imiz güvenlik. Maliyetleri göz önüne almadan bak m onar mlar ve yat r mlar yap yoruz. Radar ndan, seyir aletlerine kadar bütün gemilerin bak m onar mlar n Talking various topics, from the recent accidents to going public, we evaluated the current situation of Istanbul Deniz Otobusleri A.S., which owns one of the biggest ferry fleets in the world, with Dr. Ahmet Paksoy, the General Manager of IDO. Can you please make a statistical evaluation of the accidents IDO have experienced until today? Undoubtedly, sea is the safest way of travelling. We take lessons from each accident that we experience. After the last accident, we put into effect very serious sanctions. Our sole purpose here is to provide safe transportation for the people of Istanbul. IDO is a reliable company in terms of its vessels, maintenance and repair works conducted, quality of the personnel, and the training provided. We provide some 1400 ferry services a day. If you proportion the number of accidents to the trips we make in a year, which is more than 500,000, you will see that the result is 0.7 per million. We work on zero-error basis, however, no matter what we do we cannot totally eliminate the risk. The only thing we can do is to minimize the risks involved through good management. But I must also state that the chance of this kind of accidents happening is only once in a million for us. There has never been an accident involving the loss of lives in the history of IDO. We had introduced many 058

2 çok kal c yapt k. Tüm kaptanlar m z meslek okulu mezunlar ndan seçtik ki bu da kaliteyi önemsedi imizin göstergesidir. Sektörde var olan nitelikli personel eksikli ini siz de hissediyor musunuz? DO bütün yetiflmifl eleman topluyor diye sektörde serzenifl bile var. Bizim için en önemli yat r m insan kayna d r. Oluflan kazalar n %80 i insan kusuru nedeniyle olur. Biz kaptanlar en üst noktadan al yoruz. Yeni gemiler yeni yat r mlar demek, yeni personel ihtiyac demek, dolay s yla bizim de yetiflmifl personele ihtiyac m z var. Personelimize uygulad m z maafl politikas da özel sektörün üzerinde. Nitelikli eleman almay tercih etti imiz için o noktada üzerimize düfleni yap yoruz. fiu anda devam eden yeni gemi, iskelelerde yenileme ve yeni hat projelerinizden bahseder misiniz? DO geometrik bir büyüme gösterdi. Bafllarda 30 noktada sefer yaparken flu anda 82 noktada sefer yapar olduk. Bir yandan gemi yat r mlar yap yoruz; 3 y l içinde 350 milyon dolarl k gemi yat - r m yapt k. Di er yandan 82 noktadaki iskelenin rehabilitasyonu ve baz lar n n tamamen yenilenmesi konusunda çal fl yoruz. Pendik-Yalova dan sonra Bursa hatt devreye girdi. 5 adet yeni nesil deniz otobüsümüz devreye girdi. Bunun ötesinde Pedik-Yalova y güçlendirmek ad na bafllatt m z çal flmalar m z var. Oras için bir tane daha aç k güverteli feribot getiriyoruz. fiu anda Hollanda da yap l yor in yaz aylar nda sefere bafllam fl olacaklar. Bunun yan nda 4 adet arabal vapur projemiz var. Ayr ca halk n seçti i flehir hatlar vapuru projemiz var. hale ve çal flmalar bitti, Çeliktrans-Düzgit ortakl ile yap m na bafllanan 5 vapurdan ilki Ekim 2008 de çal flmaya bafllayacak. Yak n zamanda bafllayacak Ro-Ro projemiz innovations since we have taken over the city lines. We carried out extensive maintenance and improvement work on the ships and the piers. Our priority is safety. We carry out maintenance, repair works as well as making investments without giving much consideration to the costs involved. From their radars to their navigation, the maintenance and repairs of the ships are made in a manner that will withstand the effects of time. We have chosen all our captains from the graduates of vocational schools and this is an indicator of the importance we place on quality. Do you also feel the shortage of qualified personnel in the sector? There are some complaints in the sector claiming that IDO has been hiring all the educated qualified personnel. Our most important investment is in human resources. 80% of the accidents happen due to human error. We hire the captains at the peak of their profession. New vessels mean new investments, new personnel requirements and hence we need trained and experienced personnel like others in the sector. The salary policy we implement is superior to that of the private sector. We prefer to hire qualified personnel and to be able to accomplish this we do whatever is necessary. Can you please tell us about the work in progress with respect to the new ships, the piers as well as new city line projects? IDO has grown geometrically. Initially we were sailing to 30 points but now we have routes to 82 points. On one side we are investing in ships. Within the last 3 years, our investment in ships amounted to 350 million dollars in total. And on the other hand, we are working on the rehabilitation and in some cases replacement of the piers at 82 points. After Pendik-Yalova, Bursa line has commenced and 5 new sea buses have become operational. Other than these, we also work on a project that involves reinforcing Pendik - Yalova line. For that route we will bring one of those ferryboats with an open deck. It is under construction in Holland at the moment. MARINE & COMMERCE OCTOBER

3 var. Projeler öncesinde çok çal flarak alt yap s n iyi oluflturuyoruz. Bizim için gemi getirmek kolay, ancak kara ayaklar ile ilgili çal flmalar sürüyor. Belediyemiz flu anda bölge seçimi ile u rafl yor. Asl nda bu ifl için en uygun yer Kartal daki eski çimento fabrikas alan yd ama baflka bir düflünce var art k herhalde. stanbul gibi trafi in çok yo un oldu u bir kentte kamyonlar da trafi e dahil etmek ak ll ca olmaz. En do rusu bunu kentin d fl na do ru kayd rmak. Marmaray Projesi devreye girdi i zaman kent içinde de iflimleri de peflinden getirecek. DO kuruluflundan bu yana büyük de iflim Dr. Ahmet Paksoy gösterdi, önce birkaç deniz otobüsü ard ndan feribot tafl mac l ve sonra flehir hatlar n alarak dev gibi bir filoya sahip oldu. Bu anlamda stanbul un büyümesi, Marmara n n geliflmesi ve yük hareketinin artmas na paralel olarak bizim ulafl m sistemimizin insanlar n vazgeçilmezi olmas laz m. Mudanya hatt n n reklam n yaparken deniz art karayolunun toplam süresinin ayn oldu unu söylediniz. Ama asl nda Mudanya hatt nda daha çok kara kullan lm fl oluyor. Bu sene Band rma ya çok dolu gittik. Yeni büyük feribot gelmedi, 3 tane büyük feribot var. Dolay s yla bir hatta bir feribotla, di er hatta iki feribotla çal flmak gerekiyor. Bu da bir hatta sefer say - m z düflük kalacak demektir. Bu planlamay yaparken esas ald - m z fley, en fazla araç ve yolcuyu nas l tafl r z konusuydu. Neticede bu hesaplara göre iki gemiyi Bursa Mudanya ya koyduk. Çünkü Bursa yak n oldu u için günde 5-6 sefer yapabiliyoruz. Band rma ya ise günde 3-4 sefer yapabiliriz. nsanlar bu say lar bilmedi i için tepkiler olabiliyor. Band rma feribotuna yer bulamayan yolcular m z Mudanya ya yönlendirdik. Seneye yeni gemilerimiz gelince 2 gemi Band rma ya, 2 gemi Mudanya ya çal flacak. Biz bu yaz itibariyle, 3 ayda 25 milyon yolcu, 2 milyon da araç tafl - d k. Bakt n zda bu rakamlar inan lmaz rakamlar. Yol, yak t ve kaza riski kriterlerine göre de erlendirecek olursak, DO nun milli ekonomiye cirosu kadar katk s var. Seneye çok daha yüksek kapasiteli hizmet verece iz. Ancak her sene talep art yor, belki seneye yeni yat r mlar yapma gere i do acak. It will become operational in the summer months of the year Furthermore we have a project that involves 4 car ferries and a project with regard to the city-line ferries, whose design is chosen by the public. The tender and the studies have been finalized; the first one of the total of 5 ferries that are built by the Celiktrans-Duzgit partnership will become operational in October We also have a Ro-Ro project that will start soon. We work hard to establish the necessary infrastructure before launching the projects. It is easy for us to bring over the ships, however, work pertaining to land is still in progress. At present the municipality is in the process of selecting the appropriate areas. Actually the most appropriate location was the old cement factory in Kartal, but I think some other places are under consideration right now. It would not be clever to include trucks in traffic in a city like Istanbul where the traffic is already congested. The optimal solution would be to move them outside the city. When Marmaray project becomes operational, it will bring along some changes in the city. IDO has exhibited a great change since the time it was first established, first came a few sea buses which were followed by ferry transportation and then a huge fleet was acquired with the acquirement of the city lines. Within this context, our transportation system will be indispensable to the people as Istanbul continues to grow, Marmara develops and transportation of freight increases in volume. While you were promoting Mudanya line, you said that the total time spent on sea plus motorway would be the same. However, in Mudanya Line, motorway is used in the majority of the time. Our services to Bandirma were completely full this year. We did not receive the new large ferry we were expecting and used the other three large ferries we had. For this reason we had to operate one ferry on one line and two on the other which meant that on one line less people would be served due to the lower number of services. When we made our plans, we focused on how to carry the maximum number of people and vehicles. As a result of the study we carried out, we decided to operate 2 ships to Bursa, Mudanya. As Bursa is closer 5 to 6 trips can be made in a day, however only 3 to 4 trips can be made to Bandirma. The people are not aware of these figures so sometimes they react negatively. We directed the customers that could not find available seat on Bandirma Ferry, to the Bursa-Mudanya one. When we receive the new ships next year, 2 of them will operate on Bandirma line while 2 will operate on Mudanya line. This summer we transported 25 million passengers and 2 million vehicles in 3 months. When you look at these figures, you will see that they are phenomenal. If we evaluate the situation according to the risks involved with respect to the line, fuel and possible accidents, we can deduce that IDO contributes to the economy as much as its turnover. Next year our service capacity will be much higher. But it is also true that the demand increases with each year, so next year the need for further investments may arise. What is your total present investment volume? We have made 350 million dollars worth of investments within the last 3 years. However, we need to take a break. Anyway, IDO has 060

4 fiu anda toplam yat r m hacminiz ne kadar? 3 y l içersinde 350 milyon dolarl k yat r m yapt k. Ancak biraz nefes almam z gerekiyor. Art k DO kar eden bir kurulufl haline geldi. Bu da bizim için ÖTV siz yak t indiriminin önemli bir katk s d r. Sürekli dinamik bir tarife yap yoruz. Bütün yaz l m m z de ifltirerek, erken ucuz bilet al m n ifllevsel hale getirece iz. Bütün bunlar n özünde insan m za daha kaliteli hizmet verme iste i var. skeleler denizcili in çok önemli sembolleridir. Kad köy skele sinin kültür sanat merkezi yapt k, Befliktafl skelesi ni turizm atölyesi yapt k, hem eski iskeleleri onard k hem de sosyal sorumluluk merkezleri haline getirdik. Bu anlamda tüm iskeleleri elden geçirmifl olduk. Karaköy, Kad köy, Bostanc, Befliktafl bitti. Üsküdar ve Eminönü skeleri yap lacak. Bir yandan yeni gelecek gemilere haz rl k yap yoruz. Topçular ve Eskihisar skelelerini de modernize ettik y l ileriye yönelik projeksiyonlar ya da yat r m çal flmalar n z var m? Biz 5 farkl tipte gemi yapt k, asl nda gelece in gemilerini bugüne tafl d k. Yeni nesil deniz otobüsü, feribot, vapur, arabal. Yeni ihtiyaçlar oldu unda, ilgili kurullar m zla bir araya gelip stratejik planlar m z revize ediyoruz. Önümüzdeki 2 y l için yat r m yapma plan m z yok ama 2 y ldan sonra muhakkak filoyu büyütece iz. fiehir içi ulafl mda Turyol ve Dentur ile bir tak m çal flmalar - n z var, bunlar yeterli mi sizce? Entegrasyon bu ülkenin gelece idir, medeniyetin ölçüsüdür, mutlaka yap lmal d r. DO olarak iskelemizi özel sektöre açt k, kiralamalar yapt k, onlar tek bilet sistemi içine ald k, yani onlarla tam bir iflbirli i içine girdik. Dolay s yla bir s k nt yaflam yoruz. Biz de bundan mutluluk duyuyoruz, stanbullu denizi keflfetti, yolcu say s nda da art fl oldu. Yolcu say s n daha da artt rmay hedefliyor musunuz? At the Interferry Congress held in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, with participation of 25 countries, IDO s investments in the maritime transportation in the last three years were praised. Len Rouche, President of Interferry, said, with its total of 91 million passengers and a fleet consisting of 100 vessels, IDO ranked first in the world and added that the General Director Ahmet Paksoy, who had been elected to the Presidential Council, was the strongest candidate for the presidential elections to be held in sveç in baflkenti Stockholm de yapılan 25 ülkenin katıldı ı Interferry Kongresi de, DO nun son 3 yılda deniz taflımacılı ına yaptı ı yatırımlardan övgüyle söz edildi. Uluslararası Feribot flletmecileri Birli i (Interferry) Baflkanı Len Rouche, yılda taflıdıgı 91 milyon yolcu ve 100 araçtan oluflan filosuyla DO nun dünyada birinci sıraya yerleflti ini, Baflkanlar Konseyi ne seçilen Genel Müdür Ahmet Paksoy un ise 2009 seçimleri için en güçlü baflkan adayı oldu unu açıkladı. Denizin pay n n artmas karadan geçiyor. Bir bölgede ne kadar akbecome a profitable institution. The discount on fuel without the excise tax had significant contribution to this fact. Our tariffs are quite dynamic. We will change all our software programs and make the application of advance ticket purchases at cheaper prices possible. At the core of all these efforts is our desire to provide better quality services to our people. Piers are important symbols of marine operations. We have turned Kadikoy Pier into a culture and art center, Besiktas Pier has become a tourism workshop. While we are repairing the old piers we, at the same time, turn them into social responsibility centers. In this respect, we have taken care of all the piers. The works on Karakoy, Kadikoy, Bostanci, and Besiktas have been concluded. Uskudar and Eminonu piers will be the next. Moreover we are getting ready for the new ships to be delivered and in the mean time modernized the Topcular and Eskihisar Piers. Do you have any projections or planned investments for 5 to 10 years into the future? We created ships in 5 different styles, actually made the future a reality of present. New generation sea buses, ferry boats, boats and public ferries. When new requirements arise, we come together with the relevant committees and revise our strategic plans. We do not have any plans to make any investments for the next 2 years, but after 2 years we will certainly enlarge the fleet. With regard to intra-city transportation you have some joint studies with Turyol and Dentur, do you think these are sufficient? Integration is what lies ahead for this country, it is a measurement of civilization, it must absolutely be realized. As IDO we have opened up our piers to the private sector, have carried out some leasing transactions, and included private sector in the single ticketing system. In other words we have established full cooperation. In consequence, we do not 062

5 tarma istasyonu kurulursa, o kadar deniz tafl mac l artacakt r. ki yaka aras nda 1.2 milyon insan tafl n yor, bunun 450 bini deniz yolu ile tafl n yor, bu da %30-35 lere denk geliyor. Biz denizi iyi kullan yoruz asl nda. Amac m z daha da artt rmak. Eskiden Bo az n daha üst taraflar nda da arabal vapur geçiflleri vard. Yeni projeleriniz aras nda bu sistemi yeniden hayata geçirmek var m? Yeni gelecek gemiler, asl nda seri ve h zl olmas aç s ndan stanbul un birçok noktas nda kullan labilecek gemiler. Bu farkl noktalardaki geçifller için belediyenin de çal flmalar var. Marmaray aç ld ktan sonra yolcu hareketinde de ifliklikler olaca için yeni planlamalar yapaca z. Önemli olan do ru bir bafllang ç yapmak. Uzun vadede Marmara d fl na ç kmay düflünüyor musunuz? Bizim önceli imiz stanbul. Kurulufl amac m z stanbul trafi ini rahatlatmak. Yunanistan a bile ça r yorlar ama bizim projelerimizin önceli i stanbul. Do ru ama, asl nda Türkiye için DO çok ciddi bir de er. Dünya genelinde de çok iyi bir konumda. Dolay s yla var olan potansiyeller de erlendirilebilir. stanbul o kadar büyük bir kent ki... Günde yaklafl k 300 bin insandan bahsediyorum. Takdir edersiniz ki enerjimizi stanbul için yo unlaflt rmam z laz m. stanbul un ihtiyaçlar na tam olarak cevap versek, di er taraflara da bakaca z. Bugün Çanakkale de, zmir de hatta Antalya ya varana kadar birçok yerel yönetim DO dan faydalan yor. Dünyada da bir model oluflturuyoruz. Bu liderli i yap yoruz ama dedi im gibi önceli imiz stanbul. Çeflitli gazetelerde ç kan borsaya aç lma konusu için ne diyeceksiniz? Bu çal flma yap l yor, zaten bizim y ll k raporlar m zda tüm ba ms z denetimlerimizin özünde bu var. Büyükflehir Belediyesi nin özellefltirme kapsam nda biz de var z. Baflkan m z da bu flirketlerin gelecekte halka arz edilmesinden yana. Böylece flirketler dinamik yap lar n koruyarak kendi kaynaklar n kendileri yarats nlar istiyor. Esas nda DO nun kara geçmesi, buna haz r oldu unu gösteriyor. Demiryolu ile de bir tak m çal flmalar n z var, bahseder misiniz? Yaklafl k 1 y ld r TCDD ile Band rma dan entegre bilet sat fl yap - yoruz. Kaynaklar etkin kullanmak ad na Kabatafl gibi yeni merkezler yarat yoruz. Bu dönemde belediyemiz, biz ve özel sektör kenetlenerek kaynaklar daha iyi kullanmak ad na çal fl yoruz. Hepimizin eksikleri var, daha iyi olmak ad na çal fl yoruz. Özal döneminde denizcilik iflletmelerinin do rudan do ruya özellefltirme kapsam na al nmas yla çivi çak lmas durdu. Ayr ca stanbul Belediyesi nin baz yat r mlar için devlet güvencesi verilmedi. Yaklafl k 20 y ll k aç k var, bu konuda ne diyeceksiniz? experience any difficulties, moreover the factors that the people of Istanbul have reacquainted themselves with sea and that there was an increase in the number of passengers make us glad. Do you aim to increase the number of passengers any further? The increase in the share of marine transportation depends on what happens on land. The more the transit stations in an area the more will be the volume of marine transportation. Between the two sides of Istanbul, 1.2 million people are transported everyday, 452 thousand of these people prefer the sea, corresponding to 30-35% of total volume of transportation. We exploit sea transportation efficiently but our purpose is to increase this even more. In the past, the public ferries were used on the upper sections of the Bosphorus. Among your new projects did you make any plans to revitalize this system? The new ferries to be received are fast and as such they can be used in different parts of Istanbul. Furthermore, the Municipality also had some studies conducted with regard to the passage at these points. When Marmaray becomes operational, there will be some changes in passenger movements and then we can come up with new plans. The important thing is to have a correct start. In the long run, do you plan extending operations beyond Marmara? Our priority is Istanbul. Our purpose of establishment is to relieve the traffic in Istanbul to a certain extent. They even invite us over to Greece but the priority in our projects will always be Istanbul. That is true, but IDO is very valuable for Turkey in general and furthermore it has made a very good reputation for itself in the world, consequently the potential available now can be taken advantage of. Istanbul is such a big city... I am talking about some 300 thousand people per day. It is clearly evident that we must focus our energy on Istanbul. If we can meet the requirements of Istanbul completely, we might be able to turn our attention to other areas. Today various local administrations from Canakkale, and Izmir to Antalya, benefit from our knowledge and experience. We are setting an example for the world. We may be the leaders in this field but this does not change the fact that our focus is on Istanbul. What would be your comments with regard to the rumors of going public as published in various newspapers? We are working on it. Furthermore, this is what we are careful with in our annual reporting and auditing that is done independently. We are within the scope of the privatization plans of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Our Mayor is also of 064

6 IDO has become a brand name of Turkey that is very well known all over the world. Interferry General Meeting 2009, that is a very expansive organization, will be held in Turkey. In order to improve ourselves further, we have acquired excellent competency certificate. IDO was the first to use the contactless cards. We are in the process of making art and culture related investments. We do our job with passion and excitement. Biz bu aç 2 senede kapatt k diyebilirim. Vapurlara hiçbir fleyden kaç nmayacak flekilde yat r m yapt k. Amac m z stanbullu lara güvenli bir seyahat imkan sunmak. Deniz zor bir yat r m, maliyetleri yüksek. Bir gemi demek en az 10 milyon dolar demek. Yolcular m z n ço u bir noktadan her noktaya befl dakikada bir gemi kalks n istiyor. Bunlar gözard etmiyoruz ama elde olan kaynaklar en etkin flekilde kullanmak laz m. Di er bir yandan da vatandafl n denize yeni s nmas n sa lam flken olan kazalar çok vahimmifl gibi gösterirsek insanlar etkilenir. Bu anlamda seyahat kültürünü de stanbullu lar n kazanmas laz m. Biz de vatandafl uyar c çeflitli filmler haz rlad k. Çok eksi imizin oldu unun fark nday z. Eksikler ç kt kça biz yat r m yapaca z. Bir zaman sonra nereden nereye geldi imize sevinece iz. Vatandafl konuya bizim bakt m z aç dan bakamaz tabii ki. Ancak ço u zaman çok duygusal yaklaflarak elefltiri yap yorlar. Bunlar tamamiyle benimsiyoruz. Bu iflletme e er gelece e tafl nacaksa profesyonel davranmam z laz m. Aksi halde iflletmeler organizmalar gibidir, zay f düflerlerse kaybolurlar. Seneye daha kuvvetli olaca z. Çal flmalar m za flimdiden bafllad k. Dinamik tarifelerimizi haz rlayaca z, sabah erken saatlere seferler koyarak yolcu talebine cevap verece iz. Dünya Feribot flletmecileri Birli i beni yönetim kurulu üyeli ine seçti da stanbul da toplant yapma karar ald lar ve baflkanl n da efl zamanl olarak ben yapaca m. Dünyan n bütün prestijli denizcilik firmalar n n birarada oldu u böyle bir toplant n n stanbul da yap lacak olmas DO için de büyük gurur. Bu da bizim art k uluslararas bir marka oldu umuzun göstergesi. Daha iyi olma yönünde ç tam z yükseltiyoruz ve hata kabul etmez hale geliyoruz. & DO Türkiye nin dünya çap nda bir denizcilik markas haline geldi. Büyük bir organizasyon olan Interferry 2009 Genel Kurulu nu Türkiye de yapaca z. Kendimizi daha iyi hale getirmek için mükemmel yetkinlik belgesi ald k. Temass z kart uygulamas dünyada ilk kez DO da yap ld. Kültür ve sanatla ilgili yat r mlar yap yoruz. Biz iflimizi tutku ve heyecanla yap yoruz. the opinion that companies such as ours must be privatized. He thinks that the companies will be able to preserve their dynamic structure due to this process and consequently be able to create their own resources. Actually, the profit reported by IDO indicates a readiness for public offering. You have some joint works conducted with the Turkish State Railways, would you like to comment on this subject? For almost a year now we have been carrying out integrated ticket sales with Turkish State Railways from Bandirma. To be able to utilize the resources efficiently, we create new centers such as the one in Kabatas. At this stage, our Municipality, IDO and the private sector have come together to be able to use the resources in the best possible way. We all have deficiencies, but we try to improve them. During the time when Ozal was governing the country, the sector went into a slump with the inclusion of maritime companies within the scope of privatization. For the last 20 years this gap has not been closed. What would be your comments on the subject? I can say we closed this gap in 2 years. We invested in ships without any hold back. Our purpose is to offer the safest means of transportation to the people of Istanbul. Investment in maritime business is difficult as the costs are high. A vessel costs minimum 10 million dollars. Majority of our passengers want us to operate ships from one point to the other every five minutes. We do not take these suggestions lightly, however it is required to utilize the available resources in the most efficient manner. On the other hand, if the accidents that took place are reflected to the public as if they were very important then the people that have just become reacquainted with the sea may be adversely affected. In this respect, the people of Istanbul must acquire the culture of transportation via sea. To serve this purpose, we have prepared films to encourage the public. We know that we are missing a lot of things but as these things reveal themselves, we will make investments to make things right. After some time we will look back and feel glad due to the progress we have made. The public cannot look at the subject from our perspective, however sometimes they may become too sentimental and criticize us. We embrace all. If this institution is to sustain its existence in the future, we must act professionally. Establishments are like organisms, when they become weak they also become extinct. We hope to be even more powerful next year. We have already started the necessary works. We will be preparing our dynamic tariffs and try to meet the needs of the passengers by having departures in the early morning hours. Interferry has elected me to the membership of its Board of Directors. They have decided to hold a meeting in Istanbul in 2009 and I will be chairing this meeting while at the same time carrying out my other duties. The fact that a meeting of this caliber, including the most prestigious maritime companies in the world, is a great honor for IDO. This shows that we have become an international brand. We are raising up the bar in becoming better and progressing towards the point where mistakes will no longer be acceptable. & 066