Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank visited SANMAR Shipyard located in the shipyards area in Altinova district of Yalova. Testing tugboats by sailing, Varank stated that the Turkish maritime industry has gained a great momentum in recent years and said, “Turkey only exported $2 billion worth of ships last year.”
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank named SANMAR Shipyard, located in the shipyards region of Altinova district of Yalova. Minister Varank, who went to sea with a tugboat, tested the performance of the sea vehicle in firefighting and rescue efforts, as well as its sudden maneuvering systems.
Making a statement to journalists after the test, Varank said, “Although these vessels are small in size, they are especially high-tech and capable vessels. They are also used for towing large tonnage vessels or for firefighting and search and rescue operations. Of course, the Turkish maritime industry, especially the shipbuilding industry, has gained great momentum recently. In particular, our Yalova shipyards have become a shipyard that produces high-tech ships.”
“THEY SHOWED US HOW THE SHIP CAN INSIDE THE FIRE BY CREATING A WATER WALL”
Reminding that the ship stopped in a very short time in the test he made using the tugboat, Varank used the following statements:
“Because their propellers can rotate 360 degrees. They can pull very high tonnage ships. We saw how it extinguished the fire. They showed us how the ship could enter the fire by creating a water wall around itself. Of course, these are very serious abilities. From this shipyard, 300 tugboats have been built so far and some of them have been exported abroad. Some of them are used in Turkey. This place continues to receive very serious orders. Hopefully, our shipyard and shipbuilding industry will continue to bleach us.”
Minister Varank stated that he liked the features of the tugboat he used and said, “We tested together how pumps are used to extinguish fire by going full distance, how the ship can maneuver around itself very quickly, how it can stop in a short time. It was an interesting experience for us.”
“$2 BILLION OF SHIP EXPORT HAS BEEN SIGNED TO TURKEY”
Emphasizing that they are very pleased with the fact that the shipyard and shipbuilding industry brings high added value to Turkey, Varank said, “We are pleased that it has become a foreign exchange generating sector, especially with exports. Last year, it exported approximately $2 billion worth of ships to Turkey. A large part of this was done from these shipyards. 35 thousand of our citizens work in this shipyard area and they bring bread to their homes. Therefore, we are really pleased that such an important industry is doing such important work and that we tested it ourselves.”
Source: NTV / Translated by Irem Yildiz