Istanbul Shipyard has a 35-year history, though within the last 12 years has upgraded its infrastructure after being acquired by SNR Holdings. Please provide a brief introduction to Istanbul Shipyard’s history.

The shipyard was founded in the 1980s but was renamed Istanbul Shipyard after being acquired by SNR Holding in 2003. Since then, Istanbul Shipyard has undergone a significant reconstruction process to upgrade its facilities and capabilities. In 2007, Istanbul Shipyard began its work on naval projects, starting with the modernization of four SAR 35 Turkish Coast Guard Boats. Subsequently, the shipyard completed five Romanian Border Police River Station Boats, and was awarded a contract by the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries for the submarine rescue mother ship (MoShip), rescue and towing ships (RAT ships), and seismic research vessel projects. Today, Istanbul Shipyard has all the necessary certificates for national and NATO standards, including facility and personnel security clearance certificates, and has the capacity to build both commercial and naval vessels. The shipyard area has a capacity of processing 25,500 tons of metal per year, as well as six slipways for the new building projects. It is capable of providing repair and maintenance services for up to 14 vessels simultaneously, and has two floating docks, three piers, and an extensive wharf area.

SNR Holdings has several companies, including Seft Ship Design, ABS Steel, ABS PV, Şener Petrol Shipping, and SNR Shipyard. How does Istanbul Shipyard collaborate and work within this group of companies?

SNR Holding’s subsidiary companies provide a complementary system where vessels constructed by Istanbul Shipyard will be chartered by Şener Petrol Shipping, and the feedback from their experience will go into building new and better tankers. Seft Ship Design, with 45 engineers, provides the brainpower for designing new vessels, and Istanbul Shipyard’s spin-off, research, and development company, MILPER propeller technology, invests in propulsion technology development. MILPER uses a seven-axis system for grinding its propellers, resulting in a high-quality product that can be used in all segments of the maritime industry from small boats to large naval vessels. Though the management of these companies is independent, the combined abilities of SNR Holding’s subsidiary companies provide many opportunities for synergy in servicing the full lifecycle of Istanbul Shipyard’s vessels, providing long-term benefits.

Istanbul Shipyard began its work in the defense sector in 2007 with the SAR-35 modernization project for the Turkish coast guard. What prompted Istanbul Shipyard to work in the defense sector?

Istanbul Shipyard targeted naval projects because of their high visibility and technical difficulty, which helped to improve its technological capabilities and produce higher quality advanced vessels. For example, the MoShip and RAT ships had American and British standards applied, which include factory testing, harbor testing, a two-to-seven month period of sea acceptance testing, as well as system installation and integration. These high standards and tests mean that roughly 8% of Turkey’s shipyards are eligible for projects like these. The naval sector also presents a global opportunity for the company to build patrol craft for safeguarding offshore oil and gas platforms from security threats. Building warships for Turkey does not yield substantial profits due to the high requirements of the navy, but it does give the company a reputation for naval work, which introduces new opportunities to do naval work for other countries.