‘Çakabey’, which is the first of the catamaran type ferries built with spacetechnology and has a carbon composite hull, which was purchased by the IzmirMetropolitan Municipality in Yalovawith the aim of improving thetransportation of the gulf, was put into service with a magnificent openingceremony.

The opening ceremony held at Üçkuyular Ferry Pier; Izmir MetropolitanMunicipality Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu, CHP Provincial Administration, CHPIzmirdeputies, district mayors, municipal and provincial council members, non-governmental organizations, representatives of professional chambers,municipal bureaucrats and citizens attended.

The World’s Largest Passenger Vessel in Its Class

Özata Shipyard Chairman of the Board of Directors, Özdemir Ataseven, thankedPresident Aziz Kocaoğlu for opening a new horizon for the Turkish shipbuildingindustry and said, “It is difficult to break down prejudices and make peopleaccept new ideas. These ships are special ships and were manufactured with atechnology used by very few countries in the maritime industry. We continueto work diligently to deliver the ships on time. We will continue to deliver shipsthat will serve the people of Izmir. These catamaran-type ships with carboncomposite hulls are the largest passenger ships in the world in their class.Çakabey will meet the expectations of the people of a modern city. With thisship, the Turkish shipping industry received a wide response in the world, andweare looking for this from the reactions we received. With the production ofthese ships, the whole of Turkey has embarked on an irreversible path and theperspective on maritime transportation will change. There is no point inbuilding old types of shipsanymore. “On behalf of the industry, I would like tothank Mayor Kocaoğlu and his team,” he said.

New Vessels AreonThe Way

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality signed a 110 million Euro loan protocol withthe World Bank Finance Board IFC for the renovation of 15 newvessels andferry piers to be used in Gulf transportation, and within the scope of theproject with a total cost of 117 million Euros, the remainingvessels that will

join the İZDENİZ fleet will be transferred every 3 months will receive thedelivery. The thirdvessel, which will arrive at the beginning of the summermonths after September 9, which is the second of the ships under constructionand whose names are determined by voting by the people of Izmir, will servethe outer bay. While the hullmanufacturing of the fourth and fifthvesselscontinues rapidly at the facilities in Yalova by Özata Shipyard, it is planned toincrease the capacity in gulf transportation by 25 percent with a total of 4vessels targeted to arrive by the end of the year.

Thanks to the speed andmanoeuvrabilityof high-speed passengervessels,more frequent trips will be possible between piers. While the carboncomposite material used in the manufacturing of new catamaran typevesselsareseen as a first in Turkey, it willalso set an example for world maritime, andships with space technology will set an example to the world, especially Turkey.Due to the technical specifications and low speeds of the existingvessels, out-of-gulf voyages such as Güzelbahçe, Urla, Mordoğan,Karaburun and Foça willbe organized once the newvessels come into service.

Thanks to carbon compositevessels, it is also aimed to consume less fuel andreduce transportation costs. The carbon composite material used invesselsreduces fuel consumption depending on weight, reduces maintenance-repaircosts and extends the useful life ofvessels. Corrosion does not occur in carboncomposite material as in metal building materials, sound and heat insulationcan be provided at a high rate, and carbon dioxide emissions occur lessdepending on fuel consumption. Carbon composite manufacturing, whose rawmaterials are produced in Turkey, provides advantages over steel andaluminiumwith these features.