Turkish mega yacht ranks among best in the world
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 19, 2009 00:00
ANTALYA - A mega yacht built by Turkish workers and engineers has become a candidate for "the best super yacht in the world" award after being selected as one of the top seven in its category by Boat International Magazine.
The mega yacht, which has two 2400 MTU motors and can reach up to 23 knots an hour, was built on the order of a German businessman of the TSMM company and was launched in July last year, said Orhan Çelikkol, the director of the shipyard in the Antalya Free Zone in Turkey’s Mediterranean region, where the yacht was built. M/Y Namaste, which was built with entirely Turkish wares, participated in the world's selected boat fairs and won great recognition, said Çelikkol.
"The 40-meter-long mega yacht managed to rank among the top seven for 'the best super yacht in the world’ award, and ’the best semi-displacement or planned 40-meter class mega yacht project' selections, which are held each year by Boat International Magazine, as leading publication of the international yacht sector," Çelikkol said. "This is the accomplishment of Turkish yacht makers."
A jury selected the finalists after viewing 99 yachts from 15 different countries and sifting through all the details of their interior and exterior designs.
"The fact that M/Y Namaste, a masterpiece of interior and exterior decoration, has ranked among the seven best boats in the whole world by discarding its opponents effortlessly depicts the level that the Turkish yacht building industry has reached and shows that Turkey is taking firm steps toward becoming a world giant in this industry," said Çelikkol.
Mega yacht building has become the most important sector in the Antalya Free Zone, which is becoming a global brand in the area, said Zeki Gürses, the director of the zone. More than 130 mega yachts have been built and exported from the Antalya Free Zone in the past decade and over $135 million in foreign currency inflow has been secured, said Gürses, adding that the yacht building capacity of the region has reached 50 or 60 units per year.
Most of the luxurious yachts built in Antalya are exported to Italy, France, the United States, Middle Eastern countries, the United Kingdom and Germany, said Gürses.
"The 40-meter-long mega yacht managed to rank among the top seven for 'the best super yacht in the world’ award, and ’the best semi-displacement or planned 40-meter class mega yacht project' selections, which are held each year by Boat International Magazine, as leading publication of the international yacht sector," Çelikkol said. "This is the accomplishment of Turkish yacht makers."
A jury selected the finalists after viewing 99 yachts from 15 different countries and sifting through all the details of their interior and exterior designs.
"The fact that M/Y Namaste, a masterpiece of interior and exterior decoration, has ranked among the seven best boats in the whole world by discarding its opponents effortlessly depicts the level that the Turkish yacht building industry has reached and shows that Turkey is taking firm steps toward becoming a world giant in this industry," said Çelikkol.
Mega yacht building has become the most important sector in the Antalya Free Zone, which is becoming a global brand in the area, said Zeki Gürses, the director of the zone. More than 130 mega yachts have been built and exported from the Antalya Free Zone in the past decade and over $135 million in foreign currency inflow has been secured, said Gürses, adding that the yacht building capacity of the region has reached 50 or 60 units per year.
Most of the luxurious yachts built in Antalya are exported to Italy, France, the United States, Middle Eastern countries, the United Kingdom and Germany, said Gürses.