Inchcape Shipping Services acquires Turkish agency Merkez

ISS which already has a strong presence in Turkey believes the acquisition will assist the further development and growth of its business at an exciting period of cruise development in the country.

Turkey continues to attract more passengers year on year as the government actively promotes the country as a cruise destination, states ISS. ‘With new cruise terminals and airport expansion planned, these numbers are expected to continue to grow.’

The Merkez brand will be retained and the business will continue to be supported by the existing management and operations team.  Through this acquisition, ISS and Merkez will now offer customers full agency coverage across all cruise ports in Turkey as well as the wider eastern Mediterranean region where ISS already has full coverage.

Commenting on the new joint venture, Sadettin Bulbul, director of Merkez said: ‘Merkez Deniz is proud to have been attending our cruise principals at all Turkish ports. As a business we wanted to grow further and our union with ISS will enable us to increase both our capability and enhance the quality of the services we provide our customers.’

Claus Hyldager, ISS ceo added, ‘This is an exciting initiative for ISS in a key European market.  Turkey is an attractive and popular cruise destination in the Mediterranean today and is expected to grow further in years to come.’

Recent acquisitions by ISS include the Palumbo Group, an Italian oil and gas project and logistics service provider, and Christy & Griffin, a maritime surveying business based in Australia, part of a strategy which has seen the company strengthen its presence in target sectors and geographies.