The Blue Economy Summit, organized between March 27–29, 2026, under the hosting and partnership of our University, was held at the Prof. Dr. Osman Turan Culture and Convention Center with strong participation.

The opening ceremony was attended by Ambassador Assoc. Prof. Dr. Merve Safa KAVAKCI, First Deputy Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC); our Rector, Prof. Dr. Hamdullah ÇUVALCI; Erkut ÇELEBİ, President of the Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Achraf BOUAL, Director of the OECD Istanbul Centre; Yunus Emre İSHAK, Barış İSHAK, and Recep İlhan YILDIZ, members of the Organizing Committee; as well as representatives of public institutions, numerous guests from Türkiye and abroad, and our academic and administrative staff and students.

Key Topics Addressed

The summit commenced with a session titled “Regional Cooperation and Sustainable Blue Economy: Shared Vision, Shared Future, and Security.” During the session, Ambassador Assoc. Prof. Dr. Merve Safa KAVAKCI and distinguished experts in the field shared their insights. On the first day, financial analyst İslam MEMİŞ delivered a presentation titled “Opportunity in the Age of Crises: Financial Power and Strategy in the Blue Economy.” In addition, various important topics were addressed, including the Blue Economy and cruise tourism in the Black Sea, the impact of port competition in Africa on trade and investment opportunities, and Türkiye’s global competitiveness in shipbuilding and Ro-Ro transportation.

Armored Cabin Control Boat Unveiled

As part of the summit, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to introduce the prototype of the Modular Armored Cabin Control Boat (MZKB). The prototype was developed by Lecturer Dr. Umut Yaşar UZUNALİ from the Department of Machinery and Metal Technologies at our University’s Sürmene Abdullah Kanca Vocational School, at his company based in the Technopark. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dr. UZUNALİ stated that the boat’s cabins have a BR6 ballistic protection level and feature a monocoque hull structure made of steel armor. In his remarks, he noted: “Except for the outboard engines and camera system, our design is entirely domestic and national. It has been designed for safe transportation in inland and coastal waters, maritime security, and special operations. Our primary goal is to make an original contribution to the defense industry, support its development, and commercialize our design. The boat is 11.05 meters long and 3.15 meters wide, with six independent compartments. In the event that one compartment takes on water, it does not spread to the others. Additionally, each compartment is equipped with bilge pumps. In the event of sinking, the front cabin can detach from the hull and remain afloat.”

Following the presentation, participants examined the boats on site.The summit concluded on Sunday, March 29, 2026, after a total of 14 sessions.

 

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