This year’s ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress took place in Istanbul, Turkey from 4 – 7 June, 2014. The event was hosted and organised by ICOMIA member Turkish Marine Industry Association DENTUR, at the Doubletree By Hilton Moda, positioned in the Asian Side of Istanbul in the Moda-Kadikoy District, situated on the Marmara Sea Shore beside the Kadikoy ferry docks.

The first two days of Congress consisted of various committee meetings including the Environment Committee where Albert Willemsen, ICOMIA Environment Consultant, presented the new and improved ICOMIA Global Environmental Legislation Guide; a clear and concise outline of the latest environmental legislation affecting the EU, US, Asia and Australia.

The annual ICOMIA/IFBSO Joint Session was held on Friday morning – speakers included: Professor Refik Erzan from the Bosphorus University’s Faculty of Economics who discussed the Turkish economy; Mr Cetin Ciftci from the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication, who talked about the Turkish government’s policy on recreational marine; Mr Kemal Saatcioglu, D-Marin Group CEO and Vice-Chair of DENTUR, who spoke about Turkish boater and marine tourism and Goetz-ULf Jungmichel, President of IFBSO, who made a presentation on the new IFBSO structure.

The last day of Congress began with the ICOMIA Working Session – speakers included: DENTUR Chairman Mr Alpaslan Sirkecioğlu, who discussed the Turkish Association’s structure, vision and mission; Naval Architect Mr Tanju Kalaycıoğlu, who spoke about design trends in Turkey; Professor Fulya Sarva from the Mediterranean University’s Department of Economics who talked about boat building in Turkey; Naval Architect Mr İbrahim Karataş, who discussed superyacht building in Turkey and Mechanical Engineer Mr Cem Hüroğlu, who spoke about Turkish marine equipment production.

The final meeting of Congress 2014 was the 48th ICOMIA Annual General Meeting where the Executive Committee, the management board of ICOMIA, bid farewell to Vice-President Yavuz Sipahi (DENTUR) and welcomed Mr Bruno Voisard, PDG – CEO of Nautitech Catamarans and Vice-President of ICOMIA member French Nautical Industries Federation (FIN).

Congress concluded with the annual ICOMIA/IFBSO Congress Gala Dinner and Bosphorus Cruise.

Next year’s ICOMIA Congress will be held in Gdańsk, Poland and will be hosted by ICOMIA member Polboat (Polish Chamber of Marine Industry and Water Sports).