Turkey’s Gemak Shipyard is thwarting recession with the diversification into specialist ship repair
Speaking to Shipping World & Shipbuilder at the Posidonia exhibition in Athens this week, Everen Usakli, regional manager for the Tuzla-based shipyard, said that demand for shiprepair work at Turkish shipyards is increasing with more than 40% of bookings arriving from international shipowners. ‘Turkey is fast becoming a major shiprepair hub,’ he said.
The Gemak Shipyard, which since 1985 has built up a solid reputation for newbuildings, having built some 57 vessels, is currently converting two 5000dwt general cargo sister s into CO2 carriers. The five-month projects will also see the yard construct specialist CO2 containment tanks.
However, whilst newbuilding orders are scarce, it is the specialist repair of dredgers that the shipyard intends to carve a niche.
The 16 895dwt trailing suction hopper James Cook has just left the yard following a tranche of work that included 250t of steel renewal. Another Jan De Nul-owned dredger, Kaishuu, and the DEME-owned Pear River are others to have undergone similar works.
Earlier this year, Gemak Shipyard extended its graving dock to 300m in length to attract shipowners of Suezmax sized tonnage.
Source: IMAREST
