Cabotage Day and its significance

In three days, we will celebrate the 98th Cabotage Day. Today, Cabotage Day is largely treated as an issue concerning only the maritime sector and is a day that receives little attention from anyone outside the maritime community. In reality, this holiday, which symbolizes the abolition of the capitulations and "full independence," represents the anniversary of an event as significant as our other national holidays.

Cabotage is originally a French word and refers to domestic maritime trade (transportation of cargo and passengers).

The importance of Cabotage Day stems from the fact that the capitulations were felt most acutely in domestic maritime trade. The privileges granted to the Great Powers in the field of cabotage in the 19th century were the most extreme among other economic concessions, which naturally made this issue symbolic.

As a result of economic difficulties and an inadequate industrial infrastructure, the Ottomans lagged behind their contemporaries in maritime trade in the 19th century, just as they did in almost every other field. The merchant fleets of the Ottoman Empire and its shipowners became unable to handle even domestic trade, let alone foreign trade, and this void was filled by the merchant ships of foreign firms. Following the Ottoman Empire's bankruptcy immediately after the 93 War (Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878), the situation spiraled out of control, partly due to the practices of the Public Debt Administration established in 1881, which resulted in the operation of many ports and shipyards being handed over to foreign companies. By the turn of the 20th century, a significant portion of Ottoman domestic maritime trade was under the control of foreign firms, and 90% of the ships calling at Ottoman ports, including those involved in foreign trade, were foreign-flagged. The only shipowners in the country capable of competing with foreigners were the Greeks. State-owned companies ranked third, and Muslim shipowners were in last place.

Some historians argue that as a result of the economic concessions granted to the Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire turned into a "semi-colony" in the 19th century. Regarding cabotage specifically, it would not be wrong to consider the Ottoman Empire a "full colony."

The First World War and the War of Independence left Turkish maritime transport in an even worse state. Many civilian ships sank during the First World War, and as a result of the population exchange that took place after the War of Independence, many Greek shipowners and skilled sailors left the country. The merchant fleet that the newly founded republic inherited from the Ottomans had shrunk by one-third compared to the pre-First World War period; the merchant ship tonnage, which had reached 110,000, had fallen to 35,000, and the existing ships were technologically obsolete.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's goal in the War of Independence was not only to save the country from enemy occupation but also to restore the economic independence that had been lost years ago. As a leader who knew very well that the Turkish flag waving everywhere in the homeland meant nothing without achieving economic independence, Atatürk had planned the War of Independence as a full-scale war of liberation. With the successful conclusion of the Great Offensive, the Greek occupation ended, and it became almost certain that the other occupying forces in the Marmara Region would also leave the country. Next in line was the abolition of the capitulations, which had been a burden on the back of the Ottoman Empire for years, and this battle was to be fought at the negotiating table.

The cabotage issue was one of the topics that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the decision-makers around him approached with sensitivity and determination, just like other economic concessions granted to foreign countries. Cabotage was addressed as an issue that had to be definitively resolved during the Izmir Economic Congress, held between February 17 and March 4, 1923, where economic independence goals were formalized, and during the peace negotiations in Lausanne. According to the decisions taken in Izmir, regardless of the circumstances, domestic maritime trade would be prohibited for foreign-flagged ships, and the state would provide financial and raw material (timber) support to Turkish shipowners.

In line with the instructions given by Atatürk, İsmet Pasha approached the cabotage issue with determination in Lausanne, and the cabotage privileges granted to foreigners, like other economic concessions, were abolished with the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne on July 23, 1923. Although the desired result from the Izmir Economic Congress was achieved in Lausanne, no ban was imposed on foreign firms at that time because the existing Turkish merchant fleet was too small to perform the task of domestic maritime transport.

Although a very important step was taken in Lausanne, Turkish maritime companies did not have the same capital and experience as foreign firms, so the equality of Turkish firms with foreign firms before the law was not enough to break the foreign monopoly.

Therefore, the tonnage of the Turkish merchant fleet was rapidly increased, and the rights to operate ports and shipyards were taken from foreigners and given to joint-stock companies affiliated with local administrations. On April 26, 1926, a law was passed in parliament stating that all commercial activities in Turkish territorial waters and coasts, as well as transportation between Turkish ports, could only be carried out by Turkish-flagged ships and Turkish companies. The decision, called the Cabotage Law, entered into force on July 1, 1926.

With the adoption of the Cabotage Law, the last remnants of the capitulations granted by the Ottoman Empire to other states were abolished, and the principle of full independence aimed for by Atatürk was fully achieved. The anniversary of such an important development was, of course, not overlooked and was declared a holiday in 1935.

However, Cabotage Day remained in the shadow of our other national holidays, and although it is celebrated every year with official ceremonies, it was never accepted as a public holiday. The ceremonies held mostly failed to attract public interest and remained limited to sailors and maritime trade professionals accompanying state officials.