Turkey is surrounded by sea on three sides, is a natural bridge between Asia and Europe. Turkey borders the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara. Naturally, shipbuilding and ship repair industries important actors takes place here. As a result of Turkey’s geographical location and global developments, Turkey’s shipbuilding industry has been boosted.
Turkish shipbuilding industry has modern, technologically developed and quality certified shipyards, together with a well-experienced work force. The industry has rapidly achieved significant development in a short period of time. In last five years Turkey has improved its shipbuilding industry rapidly and becoming the fifth largest shipbuilding country in the world.
A high expectation of development in the shipbuilding industry brings parallel investments. The number of shipyards increased to 77 (3 military and 74 private). In Turkey’s shipyards brand new ships, yachts, mega-yachts and sailing boats are being manufactured. In addition to these, repair and maintenance services are provided. Turkish shipyards are located in Tuzla, Marmara, Black Sea and Mediterranean regions.
Turkish shipyards have 4.4 million DWT(Deadweight ton) new ship building capacity, 19 million DWT repair and maintenance capacity, 239,000 ton steel processing capacity and an 80,000 DWT new ship building capacity as one piece. Turkish shipyards have 15 floating docks of different sizes and one dry dock.
The Turkish shipbuilding industry makes a considerable contribution to the Turkish economy
with 1.5 billion US$ from new ship building, and 1 billion US$ from repair and maintenance
activities. Sector development also helps the domestic production of materials and equipment which are used in shipbuilding and ship supply . Furthermore, the industry creates an employment opportunity for approximately 20,334 people directly and 63,000 people in total with related industries.
More than 500 ships with a total of 2,500,000 DWT had been built as of 2018. The types and tonnage capacities of these Turkish and foreign flag ships varied: petrol tankers, chemical tankers, fishing boats, container ships, bulk carriers, yachts, tug boats, tankers, sailing boats, general cargo ships, oil tankers, intervention crafts, coast guards, speed boats, multi and special purpose ships, military vessels, servicing tankers, bunker barges, tugboats, mega yachts and other types of sailing and motor boats. Ships produced in Turkey are manufactured in accordance with international standards (ISO 9000 and AQAP Quality Certificates) and under the supervision of specific societies.
In addition, ship repair and maintenance service for ships are provided. Many ships were revamped or repaired, including their petrol platforms. Among the services provided by Turkish shipyards, repair/maintenance plays an important role. In 2018 Turkey’s repair maintenance operations reached approximately 40 million DWT.
Ship breaking is also important part of Turkish maritime sector. The ship scrapping sector is a technological process involving demolition of old and/or decommissioned ships which are out of service, respecting the environment and safety concerns. There are 21 ship recycling companies operating in Turkey. The ship recycling capacity of these companies is one million metric tons/year (5th largest recycling area in the world).
Source:TC MINISTRY of ECONOMY