The Significance of Implementation of Cabotage Rights in Turkey - Case Study Example

Maritime Transport and Cabotage Rights in Turkey: The Significance of Implementation of Cabotage Rights in Turkey - the Impact on Maritime Industry and Turkish Businesses Background: Rationale: The thesis will deal with the maritime transport and Cabotage rights in Turkey and the central role of Cabotage rights in defining the shipping activities on the Turkish waters. The rationale for the research highlights the importance of Cabotage rights as an importance milestone in Turkish maritime as Cabotage rights have helped not just Turkish businesses but also the safety of Turkish ports. Themes and Concepts: The first part of the thesis will describe Turkey as a nation and the shipping activities including a brief maritime history of Turkey. The detailed activities of Turkish maritime transport including facts and figures will then be bolstered with an explanation of Cabotage rights and how this is important in explaining what Turkey as a nation has achieved through laws and regulations of the shipping industry. Turkey Maritime Transport - Background The Republic of Turkey is strategically placed in an area between the Asian, African and European continents and the three sides of the country are encompassed by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea to the west. The Turkish Straits is the only water route between Black Sea and Mediterranean and have unique physical, hydrological and navigational conditions (Unescap, Turkey Report 2000/2009). It has been recently contended that the volume of traffic flow in the Straits have exceeded limits of safe navigation as there has been an increase in the number of vessels and quantities of dangerous cargo. Any accident could cause irreversible damage to the environment. In order to maintain safety of navigation, life and property in the region, the Turkish Government has adopted a set of regulations for maritime traffic in 1994. Turkey's approach to maritime transport is consistent with international regulations and principles of fostering free maritime competition, safety and environmental concerns. Statistics Turkey's maritime transport facilities are rather extensive. According to a recent report, more than 38 million tons of cabotage transport, 86 million tons of import, 32 million tons of export and 150 million tons of transport has been handled in Turkish ports every year since 2000. Turkey has merchant fleet with capacity more than 9.5 million DWT and about 899 ships and is in the 20th rank in the world fleet. Total capacity consists of 5 per cent public and 95 per cent private sectors. The majority of ships comprising total merchant shipping fleet are bulk carries (48 per cent), dry cargo ships (19 per cent), oil tankers (10 per cent). The other types of ships constitute 23 per cent of the fleet. (Information available from Unescap Report on Turkey, 2000/2009) Cabotage Laws and Rights: The maritime sector in Turkey is also subject to certain legal arrangements and Law 815 on Cabotage Auxiliary services rendered in Turkish ports and waters are subject to the Law on Cabotage. In accordance with the Cabotage Act, all commercial shipping and related activities between the ports and all trading in the coastal lines is reserved for Turkish-flag vessels and supply of services are given to Turkish companies only although all auxiliary services at the ports are available to all nationalities. Transportation that violates Cabotage rights is not accepted and negotiations on Cabotage transportation services in turkey have been very rigid. Turkish Code of Commerce is related to maritime transport and is harmonized in accordance with the arrangements of EU. The application and implementation of Cabotage rights is a very important milestone in Turkish Maritime Industry and this thesis will delve deeper into the maritime industry, the regulations in Turkish shipping industry and the role of Cabotage rights in helping Turkey to integrate its shipping industry with EU and international shipping standards. Turkish fleet already has a high rank among world fleets and Turkish maritime and shipping industry is very well developed. This is to be examined in detail along with the legal dimensions and especially how Cabotage rights play a central role in Turkish shipping industry. In an important study, Yercan (1998) reviewed recent aspects of the maritime transport policy of Turkey and analyzed decisions of the Turkish authorities with regard to maritime policies at international and national levels. Regulations in customs at Turkish ports have allowed maritime shipping and implementation of Cabotage laws. The regulations allow Cabotage items to be stored and quarantined and the activities provide cost advantages to industrialists and reduce environmental harm as also accidents and traffic overload. Cabotage shipment has cost benefits and reduces company workload for high volume shipments (Turkish Maritime News, 2009). Turkish Cabotage laws giving exclusive rights to Turkish companies and operations to supply services across Turkish waters has been advantageous for Turkish companies as this successfully reduced accidents and environmental hazards and at the same time helped Turkish businesses to flourish with trade on Turkish waters. Cabotage laws have been considered a milestone in Turkish maritime history and highlights Turkey's independent and strong shipping industry with the extensive support of commercial and legislative procedures. In the context of Cabotage there are many issues that will be identified and some of these could be the relationship between Cabotage laws and competition, the international business environment and the applicability or relevance of Cabotage. Research and Proposal: With the help of the proposal, the directions and methods of research are clearly laid out. Future directions of research are also suggested by drawing on previous research already done on the subject area and the different opinions pieces or news articles written to explain Turkish maritime industry and its rules. Thus wider generalizations could be drawn from the study. Research Questions and Objectives: Aim: The aim of the project is an analysis of Cabotage rights as a milestone of the Turkish maritime transport system and shipping industry in general, so a detailed analysis of Cabotage rights, its role and implementation and its association with the development of Turkish shipping industry is studied. The results of the report and the analysis could highlight several issues related to Turkish maritime industry and shipping regulations as also the advantages of Cabotage or disadvantages in a globalized business arena. The thesis will also determine the use of Cabotage in businesses in a global context considering Cabotage laws of other countries as well drawing out comparative analysis of Cabotage laws across countries and seaports. The thesis will however also go beyond Turkish sea routes and beyond Turkish legal regulations to understand how Turkish rules and business activity compare in the global context. The thesis also deals with the advantages and disadvantages of Cabotage within the Turkish context and beyond considering even global markets and business conditions. The role of Cabotage in Turkish shipping and maritime industry and in the context of globalization is also considered. Questions and Outcomes: Some of the research questions that will determine the direction of research will be as follows: 1. Determining the importance of the Turkish maritime industry on the global map and the change s within the maritime sector in Turkey 2. Determining the importance of legal regulations and especially the importance of Cabotage rights within the maritime industry 3. Understanding the role of Cabotage in the context of Turkey's relationship with neighboring countries and especially the EU. Some of the research outcomes would include: Delineating the regulations in Turkish businesses and examining the central role of Cabotage. Analyzing the significance of Cabotage laws in Turkish maritime industry Drawing out the relationship between implementation of Cabotage laws and the success of Turkish businesses Studying the contextual perspective of Cabotage rights and Turkish maritime transport in an era of globalized businesses Methods: The dissertation would be based on research design, methodology and collection of data: Research Design Introduction and the research agenda as also an overview of the Turkish maritime industry, the relevance and importance of Cabotage laws and the significance of the thesis that would examine the implementation of Cabotage laws as a milestone in Turkish shipping industry. This is done by implementing a research design that would focus on qualitative analysis of primary data and comparison of research findings. Methodology and Data Collection: The research questions are followed by the literature review and background search that would require searching and compilation of journal articles dealing with the research questions and subject. The journal articles could be located on the internet and journal databases such as science direct and ingenta connect. The search terms could be Turkish maritime, Turkish shipping, Cabotage turkey, Shipping Turkey, Cabotage laws, Shipping industry, etc. The search terms will return several journal articles when run through google scholar sites or journal database search engines. The most relevant journal articles are then chosen for the literature review and analyzed on a comparative level with other articles. The methodology is then determined and described in the report and this includes differentiating the standards and methods of research including qualitative and quantitative research. The qualitative and quantitative analysis could be used although primary research in this case would be mainly qualitative and the qualitative analysis would involve comparative analysis of the research results obtained from the papers chosen for the study. The different aspects and opinions on Cabotage laws could be tabulated and the opinions of authors could be examined on the qualitative strengths or relevance bases. The different views are then integrated and the disadvantages and advantages of Cabotage in the Turkish maritime industry is determined according to the weight age given to pros and cons of Cabotage laws as obtained from the research studies. Analysis of research findings would go further in understanding the qualitative differences in opinions of researchers and the various dimensions to Cabotage laws and the all aspects of Cabotage laws within the Turkish and the global contexts will be determined. Other secondary research materials such as newspaper reports, magazine articles, opinion pieces, will also be used along with journal papers to determine all dimensions of Cabotage laws and its perceptions across all media and avenues. The significance of Cabotage would be determined according to the findings of the study. Interpretation and conclusions are drawn on the basis of the analysis to suggest how Cabotage could be examined or put in perspective on a global scale and how far the use and implementation of Cabotage has been significant as an important milestone in the history of Turkish maritime industry. Resources: A list of books and articles for bibliography and references that could be used for preliminary research is given here although finally many more articles, news reports, journal research papers and published opinion pieces, and theses would be considered as reference material and primary research material for the study. The equipment necessary would be computer and internet connection with access to journal databases and online libraries as well as access and usage of search engines such as google scholar. A list of theses dealing with Turkish maritime transport and Cabotage rights could also be referred as part of the primary research material. Time Scale: Gantt Chart Project Proposal Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Research Questions and Objectives Background/Literature Review - Study Collection of Primary Research Data Collection of Secondary Research Data Analysis of data and Research Materials Interpretation and Conclusion Presentation Bibliography Akarsu Mahir, Kumar Shashi (2002) Turkish Container Ports: An Analysis of Problems and Potential Opportunities. IAME Panama 2002 Conference Proceedings Atkin R.;Rowlinson M. (2000) Competition in ship handling: a study of market turbulence in North European harbour towage. Maritime Policy & Management, Volume 27,Number 3, pp. 267-281(15) Country Report on Turkey 2000, accessed 2009. http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/Publications/TFS_pubs/Pub_2217/pub_2217_Turkey.pdf D. Ali DEVEC, A. Gldem CERT, Okan TUNA (2002) DETERMINANTS OF INTERMODAL TRANSPORT AND TURKEY'S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE. http://www.econ.utah.edu/ehrbar/erc2002/pdf/P364.pdf Evrin, Volkan;ke, Giilay;Trkmenoglu, Asuman G.;Demirci, ahinde (2002), Stone anchors from the Mediterranean coasts of Anatolia, Turkey: underwater surveys and archaeometrical investigations. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, Volume 31,Number 2, pp. 254-267(14) Francois, Joseph F.;Wooton, Ian (2001) Trade in International Transport Services: The Role of Competition. Review of International Economics, Volume 9,Number 2, pp. 249-261(13) GIANNOPOULOS G. A.;AIFANDOPOULOU-KLIMIS G. (2004) Inland Maritime Transport in Greece after the Lifting of the Cabotage and Full Liberalization: A Review. Part 1: The Situation 'before' and Expected Impacts Transport Reviews, Volume 24,Number 4, pp. 465-483(19) Gripaios, O. and Gripaios, R., (1995), Economic policies and seaports: The economic functions of ports, Maritime Policy and Management, 22, (1), pp.13-23. Joyner, Christopher C.;Mitchell, Jeanene M. (2002) Regulating Navigation through the Turkish Straits: A Challenge for Modern International Environmental Law The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, Volume 17,Number 4, pp. 521-559(39) Martnez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada;Nowak-Lehmann, Felicitas D. (2007) Is distance a good proxy for transport costs The case of competing transport modes Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Volume 16,Number 3, pp. 411-434(24) McKinnon, Alan C. (1998) The abolition of quantitative controls on road freight transport: the end of an era Transport Logistics, Volume 1,Number 3, pp. 211-223(13) Plant G.(1996) Navigation regime in the Turkish Straits for merchant ships in peacetime - Safety, environmental protection and high politics Marine Policy, Volume 20,Number 1, pp. 15-27(13) Prisco, Salvatore (2007) Progressive Era Diplomat: Lloyd C. Griscom and Trade Expansion. Diplomacy & Statecraft, Volume 18,Number 3, , pp. 539-549(11) Saunders Mark, Thornhill Adrian, Lewis Philip (2006) Research Methods for Business Students. Pearson Education Ltd. Prentice Hall. Turkish Maritime News 2009 A first from Arkas: Cabotage transport with containers http://turkishmaritimenews.com/article/CONTAINER/32258/ Turkish Maritime News, 2009 SUBSTANTIAL EXPANSION FOR EUROPORT ISTANBUL 2009 http://turkishmaritimenews.com/article/NEWSFROMTURKEY/35303/ Van Dyke J.M. (1996) The Aegean Sea dispute: options and avenues Marine Policy, Volume 20,Number 5, September pp. 397-404(8) Yercan Funda (1998) Maritime transport policy of Turkey Transport Policy. Volume 5, Issue 4, October, Pages 259-266 Yavuz Keceli and Hyung Rim Choi (2008). Level of information systems in Turkish public ports and direction of improvement. International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management. Volume 4, Number 6 / 673 - 691 Yercan F. (1998) Maritime transport policy of Turkey Transport Policy, Volume 5,Number 4, October, pp. 259-266(8) Yercan F.;Giorgi F.;Cecchettini A.;Falleni A.;Masetti M.;Gremigni V.;Wang P.;Wee C.H.;Koh P.H. (1998).Control mechanisms, key personnel appointment, control and performance of Sino-Singaporean joint ventures. International Business Review, Volume 7,Number 4, pp. 351-375(25) Read More