marine&commerce - U.N RoRo CEO Sedat Gumusoglu

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YEAR // YIL: 08 ISSUE // SAYI : 95 NOVEMBER // KASIM 2012 PRICE: EURO 20 // F‹YATI: 20 YTL

APTAL GEM‹LER S‹PAR‹fi ETMEY‹N

THE WORLD’S FLEET IS GOING TO CHANGE DÜNYA F‹LOSU DE⁄‹fiECEK

TWINKLING STAR OF RO-RO SHIPPING RO-RO’NUN PARLAYAN YILDIZI

U.N. Ro-Ro, one of the major ro-ro companies in the world and sold to the KKR Group in 2007 at a price of 1.5 billion dollars, is preparing for delivery of its twelfth vessel. Having carried around 230 thousand trailers between Turkey and Europe and registered revenues of approximately 230 million Euros in 2012, the company aims to increase its fleet capacity by 25% by increasing the lengths of the vessels.

Dünyan›n en önemli

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flirketlerinden olan ve 2007 y›l›nda 1.5 milyar dolara KKR Grubuna kat›lan U.N Ro-Ro 12. gemisini teslim almaya haz›rlan›yor. 2012’de yaklafl›k 230 milyon avro navlun geliri ile 230 bin treyleri Türkiye ile Avrupa ülkeleri aras›nda tafl›yan flirket, gemilerine boy vererek kapasitesini %25 artt›rmay› hedefliyor.

answer to our question as to how he managed to become a CEO, Mr. Gumusoglu said he has achieved to become a CEO for he is a director who knows how to work with private foreign capital funds.

CEO’lu¤una nas›l geldi¤ine yönelik sorumuza, bundaki en büyük etkenin, özel yabanc› sermaye fonu ile çal›flmay› bilen kültüre sahip bir yönetici olmas›ndan kaynakland›¤›n› söyledi.

In plain expressions, how would you introduce U.N. Ro-Ro to those who do not know particularly the sector and the company well?

Yal›n bir anlat›mla, özellikle sektörü ve flirketi yeterince tan›mayanlara U.N Ro-Ro’yu nas›l ifade edersiniz?

We carry almost half of the imports and exports carried on wheeled vehicles between Turkey and the European Union countries. Among main commodities carried are automobile spare parts, as well as textile products that are light in weight but heavy in value, which are major exports of Turkey. We are a company that provides relief at western gateways and restrictions, and mainly rendering land-focused services. There are ro-ro connections from the sea between departure and arrival points, allowing facilities in land transport. We both increase competitive power of our exporters, and deliver the Turkish export commodities to the European countries fast and safely. We provide support to importers as well.

Biz Türkiye ile Avrupa Birli¤i ülkeleri aras›nda tekerlekli araçlarla yap›lan ithalat ve ihracat›n neredeyse yar›s›n› tafl›yoruz. Yük tan›m›m›za otomotiv yedek parças›, tekstil gibi pahada a¤›r, yükte hafif olan, Türkiye’nin en önemli ihracat kalemleri giriyor. Bat› kap›lar›nda, ç›k›fllarda yaflanan k›s›tlamalar› rahatlatan, bir anlamda karaya hizmet eden bir flirketiz. Ç›k›fl ile var›fl noktalar› aras›nda denizden ro-ro ba¤lant›s› var ki karayolu tafl›mac›l›¤› rahat yap›labiliyor. Hem ihracatç›m›z›n rekabet gücünü artt›r›yoruz, hem de güvenli ve h›zl› bir flekilde Türk ihraç ürünlerini Avrupa Birli¤i’ne ulaflt›r›yoruz. ‹thalat yapan firmalara destek sa¤l›yoruz.

Ro-ro transport is one leg of the multimodal transportation. Container transportation is another leg. Within what frameworks do you strive?

Sedat Gümüflo¤lu

TWINKLING STAR OF RO-RO SHIPPING RO-RO’NUN PARLAYAN YILDIZI

You asked a really good question, which I have never been asked... As a matter of fact, there is an intersection between container cargoes and ro-ro cargoes. But, we focus on land transportation in the first place.

In other words, when considered as a whole, the center point of the picture is composed of the land transport. There are cargoes transported by land as many as we carry today. Consequently, in the first place, we focus on the questions as to what new lines we should open, what pricing strategy we should adopt, from what ports we can load cargoes, etc. Secondly, we focus on container cargoes. There is a market matching container transport. While we carry light in weight and heavy in value commodities in ro-ro segment, heavy in weight and light in value semi-finished products are carried in the container segment. But, anyway, we know that there is an intersection between land and container transport on the basis of commodities. Therefore, we follow the container statistics regularly, related to our routes particularly. These statistics show us similar trends, for once economy slows down, first the energy and raw materials, then the semi-finished products, in other words container cargoes, and finally the finished goods, i.e. ro-ro cargoes, are affected. As a matter of fact, we develop new business models with our clients in order to be able to

Ro-ro tafl›mac›l›¤› kombine tafl›mac›l›¤›n bir aya¤›. Konteyner tafl›mac›l›¤› ise baflka bir biçimi. Hangi çerçevelerde mücadele ediyorsunuz?

Daha önce sorulmayan öyle güzel bir yerden sordunuz ki… Asl›nda konteyner yükleri ile ro-ro yükleri aras›nda kesiflen bir küme var. Ama biz önce karayoluna bak›yoruz. Yani üst üste koydu¤unuzda resmin tam oturan k›sm› karayolu. Bizim tafl›d›¤›m›z kadar yük karayolunda var. Dolay›s›yla temel olarak öncelikle hangi yeni hat açsak, nas›l fiyatlasak, nereden hangi limana giderek bu yükü alabilece¤imiz konusuna odaklan›yoruz. ‹kincil olarak da konteyner yüklerine bak›yoruz.

Konteynerle örtüflen bir pazar var. Ro-ro’da biz pahaca a¤›r ve mamül statüsünde yük tafl›rken; konteynerle daha çok pahaca hafif ve yar› mamül statüsünde ürünler tafl›n›yor ama gene de karayolu ve konteyner tafl›mac›l›¤› aras›nda ürünler baz›nda geçiflen bir küme oldu¤unu biliyoruz. O yüzden özellikle bizim hatlarda çal›flan konteyner istatistiklerini düzenli olarak takip ediyoruz. Gördü¤ümüzse benzer trendler. Çünkü asl›na bakt›¤›n›zda ekonomi yavafllamaya bafllad›¤›nda önce enerji ve hammadde, ard›ndan yar› mamül yani koteyner yükleri ile son olarak da mamül yani ro-ro yükleri yavafll›yor.

Asl›nda konteynerle rekabet etmek için, müflterilerimizle yeni ifl modelleri gelifltiriyoruz. Bunlardan biri, dorse treni. Biz kombine tafl›ma-

HAL‹S ÖZTÜRK

stablished by a number of transport companies under the leadership of Saffet Ulusoy, in order to find a solution and alternative for the problematic land transport due to unfavorable developments in the Eastern Europe and the Balkans in 1994, and mainly carrying trucks and trailers between Turkey and Europe by sea, the company named U.N. Ro-Ro Isletmeleri A.S. has grown rapidly by adding new vessels to its fleet in the course of time, having achieved total of over 200 shareholders, and consequently turned into a group of companies, and become one of the major Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll off transportation) in the Mediterranean region.

By the end of 2007, majority interests of the company was sold to the Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) Group at a price of Euros 910 million, i.e. USD 1.5 billion. KKR is an international investment fund company that has investments in 16 industrial segments in 20 countries.

U.N. Ro-Ro have implemented a multimodal transport model with its young fleet and strong structure created under management of Cuneyt Solakoglu and Cemil Bayulgen since its establishment.

o¤u Avrupa ve Balkan’lardaki olaylar nedeniyle sorun yaflanan karayolu tafl›mac›l›¤›na çözüm bulmak için 1994 y›l›nda Saffet Ulusoy önderli¤inde uluslararas› nakliye firmalar› taraf›ndan kurulan ve temel olarak Türkiye ile Avrupa ülkeleri arasında denizden tır taflımacılı¤ı yapan bir flirket U.N Ro-Ro ‹flletmeleri A.fi. Süreç içinde yeni gemi sipariflleriyle h›zla büyüdü, ortaklar›n›n say›s› 200’ü aflt›, flirketler toplulu¤una dönüfltü ve Akdeniz’in en önemli Ro-Ro (tekerlekli araç tafl›mac›l›¤›) iflletmecilerinden biri oldu. 2007 y›l› sonunda ço¤unluk hisseleri 910 milyon avro yani yaklafl›k 1.5 milyar dolar fiyatla Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) Grubu’na sat›ld›. KKR, uluslararas› bir yat›r›m fon flirketi ve flu anda 20 ülkede 16 sanayi kolunda yat›r›mlar› bulunuyor.

E

D

We had an interview with Mr. Sedat Gumusohlu, CEO, U.N. Ro-Ro about the course of development and current situation of the company. As an

Kuruluflundan itibaren Cüneyt Solako¤lu ve Cemil Bayülgen yönetiminde oluflturulan sa¤lam yap›s›yla, kombine tafl›mac›l›k modelini genç gemi filosuyla yürüten U.N Ro-Ro’nun CEO’su Sedat Gümüflo¤lu ile geliflmenin seyri ve flu andaki durum üzerine sohbet ettik.

Farkl› sektör ve flirketlerde yöneticilik yapan Gümüflo¤lu; U.N Ro-Ro

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compete with container transport. One of them is the trailer train.

We engage in multimodal transportation business. After we transport the goods on board ships and unload them at, for example, Port of Trieste, they are then transported up to Germany by rail. This used to be done only using block trains in the past, in other words, trailers were loaded on the trains along with the truck, which would cause the trucks to remain idle during transport. Our transportation companies have started to use a new application that makes it unnecessary to keep the trucks at ports. They started using trailer trains instead of block trains. Cranes take the trailers from the vessels just like a container, and load them on the railway cars, and then they are carried up to Germany. This is the last status in multimodal transportation. When we look at our advantages to container, we can see that we are better in terms of meeting deadlines. However, we are a little worse in terms of the rates, for we handle mainly the cargoes that can be handled faster.

What do you mean by saying “we are better in terms of meeting deadlines”?..

Today, cargoes can be transported from Istanbul to Germany within 4, maximum 5 days. It is extremely difficult to move containers at this speed.

Container unloading works take even longer, if they are to be moved to a location far from the port. The times when we lose cargoes to container transport are mainly the periods when people take the risk to operate with high levels of stocks, and consequently prefer to lower the freight costs.

Considering the current difficult and uncertain

Bugünkü persfektifte

economic environment

Avrupa’daki soru

in Europe, we do not

iflaretleri dururken

have plans to make

2013 y›l›yla ilgili

new investments in

düflüncemiz yeni hat

new lines, rather we

yat›r›m› yapmak de¤il,

consider increasing

mevcut hatlar›m›zda

the capacities

kapasite art›fl›

of our existing

gerçeklefltirebilmek yönünde.

lines.

c›l›k yap›yoruz. Yükü gemiyle tafl›y›p örne¤in Trieste liman›na indirdikten sonra, nakliyecilerimiz trenle Almanya içlerine kadar götürüyor. Bu önceleri sadece blok trenlerle yap›l›yordu, yani t›r kafas›yla birlikte trene biniyordu ve çekici bofl yere trende yat›yordu. Son dönemlerde nakliye flirketlerimiz çekiciyi limanda bulundurmaya gerek kalmayan yeni bir uygulamaya geçtiler. Blok tren yerine bir dorse treni yapt›lar. Vinç dorseyi ayn› konteyner gibi gemiden al›yor, trene yüklüyor ve yük yine Almanya içlerine kadar götürülüyor. Kombine tafl›mac›l›ktaki son durum bu. Konteynere göre nerede iyiyiz diye bakt›¤›m›zda, terminde çok iyi oldu¤umuzu söyleyebilirim, ancak fiyatta biraz daha kötüyüz. Çünkü bizimki daha h›zl› elleçlenebilir bir yük.

Terminde iyiyiz derken…

Bugün ‹stanbul’da fabrikadan al›nan yük, 4 en geç 5. günde Almanya’ya boflalt›labiliyor. Bu zamanlaman›n konteynerde yakalanmas› çok zor. Hele liman flehri d›fl›nda bir yere elleçleme yap›lacaksa konteynerin boflalt›m süresi daha da uzun sürüyor. Bizim konteynere yük kaç›rd›¤›m›z zamanlar, yüksek faaliyet dönemlerinde kiflilerin yüksek stokla çal›flma riskini göze ald›klar›, dolay›s›yla tafl›ma maliyetlerini düflürmeyi tercih ettikleri dönemler. Ama ekonomi yavafllad›¤› zaman, nakdin daha önemli oldu¤u dönemlerde, stok maliyetine katlanmamak ad›na biraz daha pahal› olsa da, yükü k›sa sürede getiren ro-ro tercih ediliyor. Kriz ortam› daha da yo¤unlaflt›¤›nda ise ro-ro da tercih edilmiyor, çünkü hiç stok maliyeti istenmiyor, müflteri sataca¤› yükü yükletmek ve hemen teslimat› gerçeklefltirmek istiyor. ‹flte o zaman tafl›ma çift flöförle karayoluna geçiyor. Ekonomideki bu hareketi sürekli takip etmek laz›m. fiunu çok iddial› bir flekilde söyleyebilirim ki; TÜ‹K’in ithalat-ihracat istatistiklerini, ülke baz›nda ç›k›fl gümrüklerine göre en detayl› flekilde analiz eden bir firmay›z. Bu de¤erlendirmeler, özellikle kendi hatlar›m›zdaki planlarla ilgili kapasite ve frekanslar aç›s›ndan bize çok yard›mc› oluyor.

Yeni hat yat›r›m› konusunda ise ülkenin geliflmesi ile ilgili daha makro trendlere bakmam›z gerekiyor.

KKR Grubunun U.N Ro-Ro’yu almas›yla beraber, dünyan›n farkl› noktalar›nda paralel yap›lar› oluflturmak ya da Türkiye’de kabotaj hatlar›n› bafllatmak gibi düflünceler olufltu mu?

KKR ad›na konuflmaya yetkili de¤ilim ama; KKR’nin yap›s›n› d›flar›dan inceledi¤inizde, di¤er fon flirketleri gibi sürekli fon devreden, fon alan ve bunu sürekli yat›r›ma dönüfltüren bir kurulufl oldu¤unu görürsünüz. Bu tür flirketler her dönemin kendine ait al›m sat›m f›rsatlar›n› de¤erlendirirler. KKR’nin de 2008 y›l›ndan bu yana dünyada pek çok önemli yat›r›mda imzas› var ve bu hala da devam ediyor.

Türkiye’deki kabotaj hatlar›na bakt›¤›m›zda da, Kabotaj Kanunu dolay›s›yla Türk orta¤a ihtiyaç duyuluyor. Dolay›s›yla böyle bir yat›r›m f›rsat› ç›kt›¤›nda, bunu U.N Ro-Ro olarak yerli bir ortakla birlikte biz mi yapaca¤›z yoksa do¤rudan KKR mi yapacak, flu anda de¤erlendiremeyece¤imiz bir konu bu. Ama en az›ndan bizim flirketimiz için k›sa vadede o yönde yap›lan bir çal›flma, plan olmad›¤›n› söyleyebilirim. Ancak elbette bakt›¤›m›z, ilgilendi¤imiz, fizibilitesini ve geliflmelerini çok s›k› takip etti¤imiz kabotaj hatlar› var.

Peki U.N Ro-Ro olarak flu andaki stratejik planlar›n›z› kaç y›ll›k yap›yorsunuz?

Sedat Gümüflo¤lu

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5 y›ll›k ve 10 y›ll›k uzun vadeli planlar yap›yoruz. Bu planlar› yaparken de; ekonomik büyümeleri öngörüyor, hükümetin yay›nlad›¤› hedefleri dikkate al›yor ve Avrupa Merkez Bankas›’n›n analizlerini, yay›nlar›n› takip ediyoruz.

But, at times of economic slowdown, when the cash is more important, ro-ro transportation is preferred for shorter transit times, albeit at slightly higher costs, in order not to suffer the stock costs. At times when economic crises deepen, ro-ro transportation is not preferred so much to refrain from stock costs. Customers want to ship and deliver the goods as soon as possible. At such times, trucks are heavily used for transportation with two drivers. You need to keep-up with such fluctuations in the economy. I can say that, we are the only company that analyzes the import and export statistics by exit customs by countries, as published by TUIK. These analyses provide us with significant assistance in terms of the capacities and frequencies in planning of our routes. We should consider the macrotrends related to development of the country for new route investments.

Do you have any plans to create parallel structures in different parts of the world or start coastal transport routes in Turkey after acquisition of U.N. Ro-Ro by the KKR Group?

I am not authorized to speak on behalf of the KKR Group, but, when you examine the structure of the KKR Group from outside, you can see that it is an organization that continuously transfers and receives funds and constantly converts them into investments like other fund companies. Such companies make the best use of buying and selling opportunities in any period. KKR has made many major investments in the world since 2008, and they continue investing. When we look at the coastal transport lines in Turkey, we can see that a Turkish partner is required due to the Coastal Trade Law. Consequently, we cannot determine whether we, as U.N. Ro-Ro, will make an investment in this field with a Turkish partner, or KKR will directly make an investment when there is such an investment opportunity at this stage. But, at least, I can say that U.N. Ro-Ro does not have any plans or projects aimed at that field in the short-term. However,

KKR, U.N Ro-Ro’yu ald›ktan sonra al›p sataca¤› bir varl›k olarak m›, yoksa uzun vadeli bir yat›r›m olarak m› de¤erlendirdi?

Yat›r›m›n temel ç›k›fl noktas›n›n, art› bir de¤er yaratmak ve flirketi büyüterek, de¤er katmak oldu¤unu söyleyebilirim. U.N Ro-Ro zaten çok sa¤lam alt yap›ya sahip bir flirketti. Sat›fltan sonraki planlar bu alt yap›n›n nas›l büyütülebilece¤ine ve ard›ndan da ortaklara nas›l döndürülece¤ine yönelik yap›ld›. Bu planda da herhangi bir flaflma yok, herhangi bir süre yok. fiirketin 2007 y›l›nda ilk sat›n al›nd›¤› dönemlerdeki kapasitesi ile bugünkü kapasitesini mukayese eder misiniz?

Al›nd›¤› zaman flirket, 8 gemi ile sadece ‹stanbul-Trieste aras›ndaki tek hatta çal›fl›yordu. Bugünse bir a¤ olmufl durumda. ‹stanbul’un iki yakas› ile Mersin’den, Fransa ve talep eksikli¤i dolay›s›yla bir süredir ara vermifl olsak da Köstence hatt›m›zla birlikte toplam 5 hatta ve biri kiralanm›fl olmak üzere toplam 12 gemi ile faaliyetimizi sürdürüyoruz. 2013 Mart sonunda ise bir gemi daha filomuza eklenecek o da; 4,100 lanemetre, baflka bir deyiflle 4.1 km yol uzunlu¤unda kapasiteye sahip Türkiye’nin en büyük Ro-Ro gemisi olacak.

Tafl›nan araç say›s› olarak bakarsak, o tarihlerde 70,000 gidifl, 80,000 dönüfl olmak üzere 150,000 araç tafl›m›flken, 2011 y›l› rakamlar›m›zda bu say›n›n yaklafl›k 230,000’e ç›kt›¤›n› görüyoruz.

Yani hem kapasite, hem hat yat›r›m›, hem de araç say›s› anlam›nda planlananlar›n hepsi gerçekleflti. Ama bu sene Avrupa Birli¤i’ndeki ekonomik problemler sebebiyle rakamlarda art›fl beklemiyorum.

Peki 2008 krizinden sonraki dalgalanmada ne kadarl›k bir kay›p yaflad›n›z?

2008’in son çeyre¤inde büyük bir darbe geldi. 2009’un ilk çeyre¤i de MARINE&COMMERCE KASIM 2012

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there are some coastal trade routes which we are interested in, and follow relevant feasibility studies and developments closely.

How many years do U.N. Ro-Ro’s strategic plans cover currently?

We make long-term plans, such as 5 years and 10 years. We make projections on economic growth, targets of the government, and follow the analyses and publications of the Central Bank of Europe while we are making these plans.

Does KKR consider U.N. Ro-Ro as an asset that has been acquired and can be sold subsequently, or as a long-term investment?

I can say that the origin of the investment was to create added value, and expand the company to create even further value. U.N. Ro-Ro already had a very strong infrastructure. After acquisition, plans have been made to grow the company and how it would return to the shareholders. There are no deviations in this plan, and there are no time limitations.

Could you please compare the capacity of the company in 2007, when it was first acquired, and now?

At the time when it was first acquired, the company used to provide services only on a single route between Istanbul and Trieste with 8 vessels. Today, we have created a network. Currently we operate total of 5 lines, including those from both sides of Istanbul and Mersin to France and Constantza, even though we have suspended the services to Constantza for the time being due to lack of demand, and we operate with total of 12 vessels, one of which is chartered. One more vessel will be included in our fleet by the end of March 2013. The new vessel is a 4,100 lane-meter Ro-Ro vessel, which will be the largest in Turkey.

In terms of the number of vehicles carried, we used to carry total of 150,000 vehicles in both directions in 2007, but as of 2011, this figure has reached approximately 230,000. In other words, we have achieved all our plans in terms of both line investments and number of carried vehicles. But, I do not expect an increase in these figures this year, due to the economic problems in the European Union.

What losses have you suffered during the fluctuations after the 2008 crisis?

We received a severe blow in the last quarter of 2008. And it continued in the first quarter of 2009 as well. Our business shrank around 20-25%. It even reached to 30% levels in some months. We used our resources optimally during the rest of 2009. But, both the market and our company grew in 2010.

Do you have any plans to increase the company’s capacity?

Instead of investing in newbuildings, we have plans to increase the capacity of our vessels by increasing their lengths. We conducted engineering studies in 2008. We can increase the capacity by 25%. In other words, a vessel’s cpacity can be increased from 240 trailers to 300 trailers. There is negligible decrease in the speed of the vessels using the same main engines. But, we mostly operate the vessels having a maximum speed of 21.5 knots at 19.5-20 knot speeds to economize on bunker.

In addition to ro-ro transportation, you are also engaged in port operations. Do you consider port operations as an individual field of business or as an integrated part of the whole?

Actually, we consider our port as a way different value. Yes, the port provides services only for us, but in the first place, it is a value for Turkey.

We are talking about a port that is specifically designed for this business and provides services only to ro-ro vessels with 2 piers having a parking lot for 600 vehicles. In other words, it is a value in itself, and a main part of our business. I can even say that it is the heart of our operations. But, we do not provide such services only from our own port, we have very good cooperation with MIP and Port of Mersin. We also have a pier that was

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ayn› flekilde devam etti. Küçülme %20-25’ler civar›ndayd›. Hatta ay baz›nda bakarsan›z %30’lara vard›¤› dönemler oldu. 2009 y›l›n›n kalan›nda elimizdeki kaynaklar› en optimal kullan›m flekline yöneldik.

Ama 2010 y›l›yla birlikte hem pazar büyüdü, hem de biz büyüdük.

Kapasite art›rmaya yönelik planlar›n›z var m›?

Yeni gemi yat›r›mlar›ndan daha çok mevcut gemilerimize boy vererek uzatma planlar›m›z var. 2008 y›l›nda mühendislik çal›flmalar›n› yapt›rd›k. %25 kapasite artt›rabiliyoruz, yani 240 treyler kapasiteli gemimiz yaklafl›k 300’e ç›kabiliyor. Ayn› ana makinayla az bir h›z kayb› oluyor. Ama zaten 21.5 knot maksimum h›z› olan gemileri ekonomik olan 19.5-20 knot’ta iflletiyoruz.

Hat iflletmenin yan› s›ra liman iflletmecili¤i de yap›yorsunuz.

U.N Ro-Ro liman iflletmecili¤ini ayr› bir de¤er olarak m› yoksa bütünün bir parças› olarak m› konumland›r›yorsunuz?

Biz liman›m›z› bambaflka bir de¤er olarak görüyoruz do¤rusu. Evet sadece bize hizmet ediyor ama önce Türkiye’nin bir de¤eri. Sadece ro-ro gemilerine servis veren, 2 r›ht›ml›, 600 araç park› kapasitesine sahip, bu ifle spesifik tasarlanm›fl bir limandan bahsediyoruz. Yani liman›m›z hem bafll› bafl›na bir de¤er, hem de iflimizin ana parças›. Operasyonumuzun kalbidir de diyebilirim. Ama biz sadece kendi liman›m›zda hizmet vermiyoruz. MIP ile Mersin Liman›nda çok iyi bir iflbirli¤imiz var. Ambarl› Liman›’nda uzun vadeli kiralad›¤›m›z 2005 y›l›ndan beri bize hizmet veren bir liman›m›z var. Oradan Fransa ve ‹talya hatt›m›z› iflletiyoruz. Çok önemli iflbirliklerimiz de esas karfl› tarafta. Örne¤in; ‹talya-Trieste liman› bizim diyebilece¤imiz kadar yo¤un kulland›¤›m›z bir liman. Ro-ro r›ht›mlar›n›n tamam›n› biz kullan›yoruz ve çok kuvvetli iflbirliklerimiz var.

Kendi liman›n›zla anlaflma yapt›¤›n›z limanlar›, verilen hizmet aç›s›ndan mukayese etti¤inizde nas›l bir de¤erlendirme yap›yorsunuz?

Bizim filomuz 4.5 yafl ortalamas› ile dünyan›n en yeni filolar›ndan biri. Liman›m›z da öyle. Dolay›s›yla karfl› taraftaki hizmetimizin de aksamamas› ve bir bütünlük sa¤lanmas› gerekiyor. Yine Trieste’yi örnek olarak verirsem; yaklafl›k 20 y›ld›r bizimle birlikte çal›flan bir liman ve tüm ifl ak›fllar› oturmufl durumda. Faaliyetlerimizin oluflturdu¤u ifl hacmi liman toplam›n›n %50’si dolay›nda. Günün gereklerine göre de yat›r›mlar› yap›yorlar. Bugün ‹talya’da kriz bile olsa bizim Trieste için ne kadar önemli oldu¤umuzu bildiklerinden, her türlü aksakl›kta muhatab›m›z› buluyor ve sorunu hemen çözümleyebiliyoruz. Ama çal›flt›¤›m›z di¤er limanlarda baz› sorunlar›m›z var, zaman içerisinde oturtmaya çal›fl›yoruz. 2.5 y›ld›r operasyon yapt›¤›m›z Fransa’n›n Toulon Liman› bunlardan biri. Daha yeni yeni yat›r›m yapmaya bafllad›lar, çünkü onlar da kal›c› bir hatt›n varl›¤›na emin olmak istiyorlard›. Buraya gelip U.N Ro-Ro’nun yat›r›mlar›n›, kal›c›l›¤›n› gördükten sonra hizmet kalitelerini artt›rmak zorunda olduklar›n› anlay›p; alan›n asfaltlanmas›, flöförler için sosyal alan ve r›ht›mlar›n iyilefltirilmesi gibi yat›r›mlar›n karar›n› ald›lar. Önümüzdeki 1 y›l içerisinde Fransa Liman› çok iyi olacak. Çal›flt›¤›m›z di¤er bir liman Köstence. Anlaflma yapmak için tam 1.5 y›l u¤raflt›k. Minimum 5 y›ll›k sözleflme ile bir r›ht›m talep ettik ama bunu bile sa¤layabilmemiz çok uzun bir süre ald›. Üstelik r›ht›mda bir yat›r›m gerekiyordu ve Köstence Liman› bunun için fonlar› olmad›¤›n› söyledi¤inden o yat›r›m› da biz yapt›k ve liman› haz›r hale getirdik. Fiziki flartlar›n d›fl›nda servis seviyesinde de ciddi yetersizlikler yaflad›k. Bizim servis alamamam›z demek asl›nda müflterimizin

hired on long-term basis in 2005 at Ambarli Port. Our transport lines to France and Italy are operated from Ambarli. We also have very important co-operations with the other sides of the lines. For example, the Port of Trieste in Italy is one which is very frequently used by us, so that we can say that is ours. All ro-ro piers in the Port of Trieste are used by our vessels, and we have very strong cooperation.

How can you compare your own port and other ports you cooperate with in terms of the services provided?

Our fleet is one of the youngest fleets in the world, with an average vessel age of 4.5. The same applies to our port as well. Consequently, the other side should ensure a unity in order to prevent any interruptions in our services. If we give the Port of Trieste as an example again, it is a port that has provided services to us for some 20 years, and everything is established and operates smoothly. The business volume created by our operations at the port correspond to around 50% of the port. They make investments according to the requirements of the time. Even if there is an economic crisis in Italy today, they willingly assist us to solve any problems, for they know our importance for the Port of Trieste.

But, we have some problems at other ports we cooperate with, and we are striving to solve them in the course of time. One of them is the Port of Toulon in France, with which we work with for 2.5 years. They have started to make investments only recently, for they wanted to be sure that this was a permanent line. After they came here and saw U.N. Ro-Ro’s investments, they understood that our lines were permanent, and finally decided that they should increase their service quality. They are currently making investments in asphalt pavement of the area, construction of social facilities for drivers, and improvement of piers. The Port of Toulon in France will be a very good one in the next 1 year.

Another port we cooperate with is the Port of Constantza. We strived to sign a contract for exactly 1.5 years. We requested them to assign a pier under a 5-year agreement, but it took a long time to convince them to sign it. What is more, the pier required considerable improvement investments.

Because the port authorities said they did not have the funds to do it, we made that investment ourselves. In addition to the physical conditions, the port had considerable deficiencies in terms of the services. If we cannot receive services, our customers would not receive services either. In such cases, customers naturally do not want to use ports that fail to provide the required level of services, they prefer the land transport. Therefore, our services to Romania have been suspended. We have negotiations with MIP for improvement works, for they leave containers in our parking areas from time to time, causing decreases in the parking area for our trucks.

But, I know that the port authorities strive to provide us with the best facilities as far as they can. So, we are pleased with their services now, and we cooperate with them.

You are the only company in terms of the services you provide. What would you like to say about this?

Ro-ro transportation is not a business that requires special licenses like the GSM business. It is something that can be done by anyone, who can buy a vessel and sign contracts with two ports. However, in order for the ro-ro lines to be profitable, the land transport side should be long and ro-ro transport side shorter, so that one vessel can transport more vehicles with frequent services. On our lines, the sea transport side is in parallel with the land transport side, or longer. Because the sea transport lines are long, we need more vessels, in other words, high investments. Competition with land transport limits the profit margin. Consequently, it is rather difficult to manage this business. Therefore, the KKR Group invested 910 million Euros in the company in Turkey, and immediately after that, they made 250 million Euros, or 400 million dollars, additional investments. &

alamamas› demek. Bu durumda da müflteri do¤al olarak servis alamad›¤› limana gitmek istemiyor, karayolundan gidiyor. O yüzden flu ara Romanya’daki servislerimiz durduruldu. MIP ile de çeflitli iyilefltirme görüflmeleri yap›yoruz. Çünkü zaman zaman park alanlar›m›za konteynerlerin b›rak›ld›¤›, böylece bizim t›rlar›n park alanlar›n›n küçültüldü¤ü oluyor. Ama liman yönetiminin mevcut imkanlar› dahilinde bize en iyi olanaklar› sunmaya çal›flt›klar›n› biliyorum. Onun için flu anda memnunuz ve çal›fl›yoruz.

Verdi¤iniz hizmet anlam›nda tek flirket konumundas›n›z. Bu konuda neler söylemek istersiniz?

Ro-ro tafl›mac›l›¤› GSM operatörlü¤ü gibi özel izin gerektiren lisansl› bir ifl de¤il. Gemi al›p iki limanla anlaflma yapan herkesin yapabilece¤i bir ifl. Ancak ro-ro hatlar›n›n karl› olabilmesi için karayolunun uzun, ro-ro geçiflinin k›sa olmas› gerekir ki bir gemi ile çok sefer yap›labilsin. Bizim hatlar›m›zda ise denizyolu karayoluna paralel veya çok daha uzun. Uzun yol oldu¤undan her gün hizmet verebilmek için çok gemi, yani yüksek yat›r›m gerekiyor. Karayoluyla da rekabet kar marj›n› s›n›rl›yor. Dolay›s›yla iflletmecili¤i çok güç, zorunluluktan do¤mufl ve özellik isteyen bir ifl. Bu nedenle Grup Türkiye’ye 1.5 milyar dolar, yani ilk sat›n alma de¤eri ile 910 milyon avro yat›rd› ve akabinde de 250 milyon avro yani 400 milyon dolar dolay›nda yat›r›m yapt›. & MARINE&COMMERCE KASIM 2012

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