Turkish Shipbuilders' Association
GISBIR
Improving the Turkish shipbuilding industry, helping the Turkish shipyards to take place in the world market, finding solutions for problems of shipyards through relevant authorities, associations, and organizations, representing the Turkish Shipbuilding Industry in national and international areas are among the missions of GISBIR.
ID: 588771246998-44
Lobbying Activity
Response to EU industrial maritime strategy
28 Jul 2025
Eu EU Industrial Maritime Strategy Integrating Türkiyes Maritime Industry Introduction and Context The European Commissions upcoming EU Industrial Maritime Strategy aims to reinforce the maritime sectors competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience. In the mission letter to the Commissioner-designate for transport, President Ursula von der Leyen explicitly calls for proposing a new industrial maritime strategy to enhance the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of Europes maritime manufacturing sector. Equally notable, she urges all Commissioners to play an active role in supporting candidate countries in their respective policy areas. In this spirit, we welcome the EUs initiative and offer feedback emphasizing the strategic integration of Türkiyes shipbuilding industry into Europes maritime ecosystem, despite Türkiyes non-EU status. Türkiye is one of few countries which active in full lifecycle of ships, starting from ships design, ship building, ship operations, ship maintenance and ship recycling. This submission is evidence-based, drawing on recent industry analyses and policy recommendations, to highlight how Türkiyes strengths in green shipping, technological innovation, and supply chain capacity can contribute to Europes maritime ambitions. It aligns with SEA Europes vision for a robust European maritime industry while framing Türkiyes inclusion as a natural extension of the EUs enlargement and neighbourhood objectives. Türkiyes Maritime Industry: Green Innovation and Global Competitiveness Türkiye has emerged as a leader in innovative and environmentally friendly shipbuilding, developing advanced capabilities that actively support Europes green transition in maritime transport. With 85 active shipyardsrepresenting nearly a quarter of those under SEA EuropeTürkiye stands as a strategic contributor to the EU Green Deals maritime objectives by adding critical mass to European shipbuilding industry. In 2023, over half of all tonnage produced by Turkish shipyards were green ships incorporating low or zero-emission technologies. Turkish yards delivered the worlds first fully electric harbour tugboat, the worlds largest fully electric ferry, and several battery-electric ferries and hybrid tugs. They have also constructed LNG and hybrid vessels for Norway, Canada, and EU clients. Turkish designers have developed autonomous unmanned surface vessels and built the worlds first commercially operating remotely controlled tugboat. One Turkish yard is also constructing a series of autonomous electric ferries for a Norwegian client. In addition to newbuilding, Turkish yards provide large-scale repair and retrofitting services. For example, Beşiktaş Shipyard in Yalova has completed more than 220 green retrofit projects, including exhaust gas scrubber and ballast water treatment installations for European fleets, notably from Italy. Strategic Relevance of Including Türkiye in the Maritime Strategy The inclusion of Türkiye as a contributor to the EUs Industrial Maritime Strategy supports the goals of strategic autonomy, supply chain resilience, and sustainability: The SEA Europe strategy underlines the risk of dependence on China and South Korea. Türkiye offers geographically close and standards-compliant capacity to diversify Europes industrial base. Türkiye builds military and research vessels in addition to commercial ships. This dual capability supports Europes civil and defence resilience. Turkish shipyards are deeply integrated with European marine equipment suppliers, meaning that EU shipowners benefit both from cost-effective shipbuilding and continued European value retention. Turkish shipbuilding workforce is highly integrated into European shipbuilding. Experienced naval architects, marine engineers, and shipbuilding workforce in Turkish shipyards often relocated into European shipyards to complement the trained workforce gaps.
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