SHIP CHANDLERIES ARE TROUBLED BY UNFAIR COMPETITION Ahmet Şimşek, who is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Albatros Uluslararası Kumanyacılık (Albatros International Ship Chandlery) that provides food as well as technical infrastructure services to vessels, complained about unfair competition in the sector. Şimşek, who is also a member of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce – the functional Commission of Ship Chandleries, stated that aspirants for this business should strictly be audited and that they should be sought for certain criteria. SMALL COMPANIES IMPAIR OUR REPUTATION Şimşek further stated the following: “Companies should be reliable. They should possess Assurances and should be a Chamber Member. Unnamed persons who are not such members can easily climb on vessel decks and say they are ship chandleries. After their works irritate the shipmaster and the personnel, all ship chandleries in Turkey are given the same opinion. Such events distress us a lot. We mention our such disturbances and problems in the council meetings of the Maritime Chamber of Commerce. We even apply to the ministries in Ankara or the general custom directorates for cases which trouble us a lot”. SHIP CHANDLERIES WITH AGENCY AFFILIATIONS ARE COMFORTABLE Hakan Kahraman, an authorized person for ARK İstanbul, whom we consulted on the unfair competition in the sector, stated the following: “This problem belongs to the small companies that operate in an affiliated manner; it is an inevitable consequence of providing service to the limited number of same customers; if a merchandise is sold at a cheaper price, you can then accuse neither the buyer nor the seller. Protectionism no longer makes business in the global world. It is the bringing of foreign customers and the expansion of the market which are to be promoted. The state, on the other hand, should bring sanctions on the domestic producer companies to provide appropriate prices in form of promotions and should have such companies apply the aforesaid”. Isac Karen, an authorized person for ARK Europe, said the following: “When we look at the Greek example, there are serious promotions and tax rebates for domestic producers that provide merchandises to ship chandleries. This benefits both the domestic producer and the State. 80% of the market is controlled by the Greek ship chandleries. We believe this discussion will prolong a lot. Our country is surrounded by seas from three sides but it seems that it will not be able to use its advantage for long years to come.