Ege Yacht, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in yacht production next year, exhibited its 28-meter motor yacht Nimir at the Istanbul Boat Show. We had the opportunity to talk to Sinan Özer, Chairman of the Board of Ege Yacht, on the boat, which we had the chance to see on the sea. Özer answered the questions of our magazine and made the following statements about the new shipyard, the projects they have realized in the last two years and their new 66-meter project:
Why was the new shipyard established in Ören? Can you tell us about the shipyard and the works you have realized in recent years?
“All shipyards in the İçmeler region of Bodrum have license problems. Years ago, the Ministry of Transportation got our signature. They allocated us a place in the Ören region. At that time, we were 30 shipyards in a cooperative. We received a land allocation with the cooperative. But when the crises broke out, things slowed down a lot. At that time, the state took a commitment from us. Namely, when the Ören cooperative shipyard was opened, we had to give up all our rights in İçmeler. In other words, there were not supposed to be any shipyards in the İçmeler region. There are license problems in İçmeler, you cannot build hangars. The tallest building in Bodrum is 6.5 meters. However, what we needed were heights of 25-30 meters. Moreover, we are building 70-meter boats. To overcome these problems, we bought land in the allocated shipyard area in Ören, but this area is independent from the cooperative, it is private property. We received an EIA report, we have completed all our licenses, and we provide towing services there. Last year we towed 80 boats. We also provide manufacturing services.”
“Since 2012, we have built one 24 meter sailing yacht, two 28 meter and one 34 meter motor yacht. Apart from that, we do repair, maintenance and charter yacht charter works. We currently have an 80 meter by 25 meter hangar with double overhead cranes. There are no hangars of this size in yacht shipyards in Turkey. We have created an important platform for both Turkey and Bodrum.”
How important is the new 66-meter motor yacht project for the shipyard?
“We already had the regional record with the 57-meter boat we built before. With our 66-meter boat, we have surpassed and surpassed our record for both Bodrum and Aegean Yacht. This is a motor yacht that is planned to be used for special purposes, with a displacement weight of 1200 tons, 2 master, 8 guest and 8 crew cabins, a pool and a helipad. Until August 2017, we will take care of this boat. During this time, we can build boats around 28 meters, we have negotiations in this direction. But our main job will be to build this 66-meter boat and have it at the Monaco Yacht Show in September 2017.”
“There is no problem for us in terms of timing. Italians are building the interior of the boat. If they do not delay, we will fly the Turkish flag in Monaco in 2017. Several Turkish companies have been there before. Turhan Soyaslan was there and he was very successful.”
How do you evaluate the capacity of Turkish yacht builders to receive orders from Europe?
“There is a slightly different situation this year; first the German and Dutch shipyards fill up. Then the Italian shipyards start to fill up. After Italy is full, the customer who wants a boat starts to search. During their search, they look at Turkish examples. He says that these Turks do not build bad boats either, and then it is our turn. Frankly speaking, Turkish yacht builders are very badmouthed in Europe.”
“When we received the order for the 66-meter boat at the Düsseldorf fair, the panic of the Germans was worth seeing. How many people talked to our customer and said things like ‘they can't build the boat, it won't be at this price’. Our customer said ‘Sinan will build the boat’ and we received our order. However, our work as Ege Yacht is obvious. In 2012, Peri Navi ranked first and we ranked tenth in the production of sailing megayachts, but nobody in Turkey cared. Two of my boats are in the top 50. Galileo and Montaigne are ranked 18th and 23rd among the 100 largest boats in the world.”
“There is a serious destructive competition from west to east. Maybe they are right to keep their own industries alive. This is also the case when you look at Turkey from the West. But a smart customer sees that what is done in Italy can be done better in Turkey. One of my customers went to Ferretti. When Ferretti said that the boat could be built in two years, they came and visited our boat. I wish we could build two or three boats, bring them to fairs and sell ready-made boats. But it is not like we can make them ready and wait, we are talking about very serious figures. Turkey should have hope for our sector in the future. But along with many factors, the workforce needs to be developed, engineers and workers need to become craftsmen who understand the work. Everyone is producing something with their own efforts. If we achieve these, Turkey can go much further. We are very close to Europe, it is even possible to transfer European production in megayachts here.”
Turkey should be a cheap place, so the work done for 10 liras in Italy should be 5 liras in Turkey. Since the customer offers half the price, they want to finish the work within a certain budget. But I see a light at the Monaco Fair. Compared to previous years, there was a movement this year. The movement there will eventually bring us a blessing. When the demand in the West increases and the shipyards fill up, there will be a movement.
How do you evaluate the performance of the Istanbul Boat Show, the only exhibition organized on the sea in Turkey?
“Fairs need to be organized more. Space rent and costs are actually a big risk when you look at it from a general perspective. But no one looks at the beginning of the chain. We don't even know the venue rent. This is the only fairground in Turkey where companies can exhibit boats at sea. We brought our boat from Bodrum, we traveled 800 miles round trip, where are the boats from Istanbul? This fair needs to be supported by them as well. Let's not think of this fair among ourselves. It is important for us that the catalog of the fair even reaches Dubai. I saw some Greek visitors during the fair. Maybe they came to sell something, but it doesn't matter. But people should be able to say ‘the fair in Istanbul is very good’. The Cannes fair was good, the Monaco Yacht Fair was full. Istanbul is the most important city in the east of Europe. In order to keep that atmosphere alive here, both the marina owners and the state should support us. Otherwise we know we cannot sell anything here. But come here and wave the flag.”
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