Turkey is strengthening its position in the yachting sector

In the summer of 2023 there was a lot of bustle in Turkish marinas. One of the reasons is that a lot of Russian yacht owners were in a hurry to relocate their boats from "unfriendly" Spain, France and Italy to Turkey because of the sanctions

Although there were some superyachts there too, they were mainly yachts under 30 meters, as superyacht owners tend to leave their boats in the UAE or the Seychelles. 

Besides, the exchange rate of the Turkish lira attracted European owners to the country, too, as it got dramatically cheaper to store and maintain a yacht in Turkey. A highly developed infrastructure and a variety of marinas of all prices, favorable climate and quick access to one of the three seas, lots of sights and an abundance of hotels and restaurants – all of these attracted yacht owners and worked in favour of Turkish marinas owners and operators. And so far there have been no good reasons for this situation to change in 2024.

Another reason is the opportunity of an inexpensive refit or maintenance. There are workshops located all along the coast and they are often adjacent to large marinas. According to local media reports, this year the demand for such services was particularly high and even the shipyards that normally do not specialize in refits agreed to take on some Russian and European yachts willingly. 

However, the reasons mentioned above are not the only ones for Turkey’s stronger position in the yachting industry. The most important indicator is probably the fact that the country ranked second in the world’s superyacht sales in 2022. Given the fact that the number of shipyards capable of building superyachts in Turkey is higher than in Italy (which currently ranks first among superyacht manufacturers), in the next ten years Turkey is very likely to become their worthy competitor.

At least there are all the prerequisites for this: an abundance of Russian and European yacht owners, a low Turkish lira rate and lower production costs, well-established supply chains and connections with Europe. Moreover, the quality of Turkish yachts that has improved significantly over the last years, the opening of European shipyards divisions and a number of high-profile premieres allowed the country to ensure that yacht owners from all over the world started taking Turkish shipbuilders much more seriously.