Osman Nurettin Paksu, Head of the Executive Board of Tersan, shares information on the capabilities and projects of Tersan, a leader among Turkish shipyards that has recently completed major offshore vessel projects, with the readers of MarineDeal News
1. Could you give us some informa-tion about the features and capacity of Tersan Shipyard?
The building facilities of Tersan are located on a 220,000-square-meter land in Yalova.
The 170-meter-long and 56-meter-wide shipway gives the shipyard the capability to plan the building of large and middle scale ships simultaneously or consecutively. We do the preliminary production, block production, pipe production, paint application, electricity works and isolation in our 31,000-squaremeter closed area, which assures productive and qualified production. The lifting capacity of the main crane used is 550 tons. This high capacity allows us to construct mega blocks and minimize the time spent on the slipway, hence increasing efficiency. Another advantage of this crane is we can directly move tugboats, passenger boats, fishing boats around 40-50 meters and depending on the tonnage, to water without using the slipway.
With our new floating dock, which also serves for repair purposes, setting in as an alternative launching method, we have launched our horizontal production area. We have around 1,500 workers in our shipyard, which has a capacity of processing 50,000 tons of steel per year, and we expect this number to be 2,000 in 2014 summer and autumn due to the strong orders.
2. What are your shipyard’s references and areas of expertise?
As Tersan, we are experienced in niche vessels tailor-built for customers. We can easily say that we have specialized in offshore supply ships and fishing vessels in various types and sizes following the increase in demand after we delivered the first turn-key fishing vessel to Norway from Turkey.
The projects we have done for Norway have been good references for us. Our success and competency in niche projects are now well known, we are in a period where the customers sign contracts without needing to pay a visit to the shipyard. Our successfully delivered vessels are the best examples of the quality and service we offer; these products automatically advertise for our shipyard, the leading exporter of the Turkish ship and yacht building sector.
Our primary target market is the northern European countries where quality is indispensable, but we receive more demands and contracts from all over the world as our reference list and delivery of different types of vessels increase.
3. Could you give some information about the current and upcoming major shipbuilding and repair orders?
In the last quarter of 2013, we signed a contract for an offshore construction vessel that we believe will be a milestone not only for Tersan Shipyard but also for the Turkish shipbuilding sector. The heart of the vessels that will have dimensions of 128 meters to 25 meters is an offshore crane, which will have a capacity of 300 tons and will serve in depths up to 3,000 meters. The living section of the vessel, which will handle undersea robots that perform the repair and maintenance of oil rigs, has a capacity of 120 people having all kinds of luxury. The expected delivery time for this project, which is of great importance technically, commercially and strategically, is the end of 2015 or the beginning of 2016.
4. Can Turkish shipyards raise their share in the offshore building market in the near future?
As Turkish shipyards, we have the capacity to successfully deliver such projects, and Turkey’s entry into this special market that has a huge potenteial will change the balances the European shipbuilding sector.
In addition, we are currently in talks with major offshore vessel owners who are yet to have received any offers from Turkey, there will be very important orders in the near future.
5. What are the advantages of Turkish shipbuilding and repair sector’s compared to shipyards in the Far East, or in countries such as Spain and Poland, and what are their differences?
Turkey, in combination of many criteria such as location, workforce, quality, deadline and price, is the strongest candidate to become a hub both for shipbuilding and repair and maintenance.
If we, as Turkish shipyards, take the right steps, I believe this will be inevitable. The key to success is in our hands, as long as we manage every stage in the long process from before the contract to after the delivery; production, design, detailed planning, quality control, work safety, and overcome the crises we face smoothly and successfully. In addition to these, the solution-focused practical mentality of our shipyard and other shipyards in Turkey creates the difference between us and our competitors in other countries.
