Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu stated that they restored the Şile Lighthouse, which was built in 1859 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecit, to restore it to its original state, and said, "We restored, maintained and repaired 41 lighthouses, 493 of which were historical, that guided the sailors." Referring to the mega project Kanal Istanbul, Karaismailoğlu said that all modeling and simulations show that Kanal Istanbul will be 13 times safer than the Bosphorus.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu spoke at the opening of the restored Şile Lighthouse; “Turkey is growing at full speed and continues on its way, despite all kinds of attrition efforts by internal and external conflicts. Turkey has been growing thanks to the confidence and stability in the government for 20 years. It grows by not turning a blind eye to global problems, by taking the necessary steps to ensure regional and global peace and a fair administration in the world. Turkey is growing by blending public investments with the dynamism of the private sector and realizing projects that the world admires. It grows by protecting our rights and making its power felt in our seas, which is our Blue Homeland.”
WE DETERMINATE THE STRATEGIES TO CARRY THE SHIPPING TO THE FUTURE IN THE BEST WAY
Sea transportation; Emphasizing that it is indispensable for sustainable economic development and prosperity, Karaismailoğlu noted that maritime transport is low cost and efficient. Karaismailoğlu said, “Today, approximately 90 percent of international trade is carried out in the seas” and continued his speech as follows:
“Therefore, it gives the maritime industry the necessary value in line with our goal of being among the top 10 economies of the world. We determine the strategies that will carry maritime to the future in the best way. Ensuring the safety and security of strategic maritime trade routes is one of the top priorities of great states like ours. Lighthouses are one of the most important navigation aids in this journey. Today, we first ensure the safety of our seafarers and our people living on the coast, and then the safety of the goods transported with the latest technology. Within the scope of the activities of our maritime sector, we provide services at international standards by fulfilling all the requirements related to maritime safety, maritime security and the protection of the marine environment. Again, the watchman and guide of our seas does not neglect the lighthouses. We know that they are still important helpers in sea voyages. Moreover, some of these lanterns are the legacy of our ancestors. It is the representative of more than a hundred years of tradition. It is the shining pearl of our seas. That is why we are happy to restore the historical Şile Lighthouse, which has guided our sailors for 160 years, and to leave it as a legacy for future generations.”
WE RETURNED THE BUILDING TO ITS ORIGINAL
Noting that Şile Lighthouse was built in 1859 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecit as a route lighthouse for ships navigating on the Black Sea coast, Minister of Transport Karaismailoğlu said, “The first purpose of its construction was to guide the ships entering the Bosphorus from the Black Sea during the Crimean War. Since that day, it has been guiding our sailors by shining a light as the longest-range lighthouse in our country. Şile Lighthouse has a 1 cm thick cut stone tower on the rocks 60 meters above sea level in the 110st class category in international standards. The octagonal tower of the lighthouse is 19 meters high. The tower is painted in black and white horizontal bands to make it look good during the day. The viewing distance of the light is 21 nautical miles. The building has a floor area of approximately 524 m2 on a 140 m2 parcel. The transfer of this unique structure, which defies years, to our future generations in a healthy way would be by strengthening the structure in all aspects. We have started the basic strengthening and restoration works of our lighthouse. We restored the building to its original state. We used a special paint that can be applied directly to the stone and allows the stone to breathe in order to preserve the original unpainted and unplastered stone texture for a longer period of time without being damaged. We repaired original joinery, ceiling and floor coverings. We removed the missing elements that were added to the building later and that were not compatible with the building, and we completed the deficiencies with the original materials suitable for the project approved by the Board.
WE RENEWED 493 LANGUAGES, PERFORMING RESTORATION, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS
Underlining that the restoration works in the historical Şile Lighthouse are not the first, Karaismailoğlu said that as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, they carried out the restoration, maintenance and repairs of 41 lighthouses, 493 of which were historical, that guided the sailors from all over the coasts with the help of the General Directorate of Coastal Safety.
Noting that they started the maintenance, repair, strengthening and restoration works of 2020 lighthouses, 5 of which are historical monuments, in 94, Karaismailoğlu said, “We also completed the maintenance and repairs of 89 non-historical reinforced concrete lighthouses and the historical Anadolu Feneri in 2021. Restorations of the historical lighthouses of Ahırkapı in Istanbul and Dilburnu in Yalova are also in the process of being completed. In the historical Türkeli, also known as the Rumeli Feneri, the work continues quickly and meticulously. In addition to these, we will also carry out the renewal of the existing 2023 lighthouses and 52 floating navigation aids, which have completed their economic life by the end of 40.
WE ALSO ACHIEVED GREAT SUCCESS IN THE SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY
Stating that for centuries, Turkish territorial waters have been the most important waterways connecting Europe and Asia, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Karaismailoğlu made the following assessments: “Today, we are still in the center of the most active and intense maritime trade in the world. Since 2003, we have acted with the awareness of this fact. We raised the Turkish-Owned Merchant Marine Fleet, which was 2003th in the world in 17, to 15th today. We have also achieved great success in the shipbuilding industry. We increased the number of shipyards from 2002 in 37 to 84. We increased our annual production capacity from 550 thousand deadweight tons to 4,65 million deadweight tons and increased our domestic rate to 60 percent. Our country ranks 3rd in the world in mega yacht production. We increased the number of ports from 2002 in 149 to 217. Filyos Port, the dream of Sultan Abdulhamit, which started its operations in 2021, has become the new address of large tonnage ships. This port has become an important transit hub for the combined transport chain that will result from potential traffic between Russia, the Balkans and the Middle East countries. Again, we started the construction of Iyidere Logistics Port in Rize. We are implementing a second huge investment on the Black Sea coast, where large-tonnage ships can dock. In addition, with our Trabzon, Giresun, Samsun, and Karasu ports in the Black Sea, we have re-discovered the 'Maritime Country' identity of our country, which is surrounded by seas on three sides.”
KANAL ISTANBUL WILL INCREASING TURKEY'S LOGISTICS DOMINATION IN THE SEA
Stating that the Straits, one of the most precious of Turkey's foreign trade routes, are very open to development as well as protection, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu drew attention to the intense traffic and freight transport in the Bosphorus, the world's apple of the eye. Emphasizing that the number of ships passing through the Bosphorus in 2021 is approximately 40 thousand, Karaismailoğlu continued as follows:
“The number of people who pass without a stop is close to 25 thousand. Over 465 million tons of cargo was transported through our Bosphorus; about 151 million tons of this is 'dangerous cargo'. It is our duty to develop this potential and to alleviate this burden. For this, as you all know, we have a mega project that will bring a new breath to the world maritime transport; Channel Istanbul. With Kanal Istanbul, which will increase Turkey's dominance of logistics in the seas, we are opening the door to a new era in the transportation sector and maritime field. While the number of ships passing through the Bosphorus was 1930 thousand on average in the 3s, the average in recent years has reached 45 thousand. However, the annual safe passage capacity of the Bosphorus is 25 thousand. Considering the regional and global developments, the traffic is expected to reach 2050 thousand in the 78s and 2070 thousand in the 86s. The importance of the construction of an alternative route to the Bosphorus is clear as day. With the current traffic load, navigation, life, property and environmental safety in the Bosphorus are under serious threat. On the other hand, the increase in ship sizes as a result of technological developments also poses a great pressure and threat on the world heritage Istanbul. There is also a very serious risk of accident for the city ferries and ferries that carry 54 thousand passengers a day at 500 piers. Considering the trade volume in the world and the developments in the countries in the region, it is predicted that the number of ships passing through the strait will reach 2035 thousand in 52 and 2050 thousand in the 78s. The average waiting times in the Bosphorus, which is approximately 14,5 hours today, can reach 3-4 days or even a week depending on the ship traffic, weather conditions, an accident or malfunction. As you can imagine, this time will increase with the increase in the number of ships. Therefore, it has become imperative to plan an alternative waterway to the Bosphorus.”
CHANNEL ISTANBUL WILL BE 13 TIMES SAFE THAN ISTANBUL STRAIT
Underlining that all modeling and simulations show that Kanal Istanbul will be 13 times safer than the Bosphorus, Karaismailoğlu said that they started the project by laying the foundation of the Sazlıdere Bridge, the first transportation bridge within the scope of Kanal Istanbul. Karaismailoğlu, “Again, another transportation pass; Halkalı-Within the scope of Kapikule High Speed Train line construction Halkalı- We planned our railway line project between Ispartakule to pass under the Canal with a tunnel. We started the work,” he said.
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