Europort Rotterdam 2025, which opened its doors on November 4th, is ending today. One of the companies participating in the fair from Turkey was Yalova Shipyard.
Yalova Shipyard General Manager Serkan Karamanlı shared his views on the fair with 7DENİZ.
Noting that the fair was very beneficial for them, Karamanlı said, “In terms of our capabilities, our target markets include Germany and the Netherlands. Whether it’s our dock capacity or our infrastructure facilities, we have quickly made a significant name for ourselves in the Dutch and German sectors. They did not leave us alone either. In addition to our Turkish guests, we also had guests from other countries. The fair was extremely busy. We tried to create opportunities to meet with everyone as much as we could.”
Stating that they had previously visited Europort Rotterdam as visitors, Serkan Karamanlı expressed that this was their first time participating in the fair. Karamanlı continued his words as follows: “As a shipyard, showing such performance in a short time is a source of pride for us. There is an increasing interest. We are trying to grow this even more together with our team.”
Also touching upon the contraction in the sector, Karamanlı said, “As a shipyard, this vicious cycle was within our expectations. This year, we worked hard to ensure the continuity of the shipyard and to gain new customers, rather than profit margins. We believe we have been successful. Despite the market tightness, we have reached the targets we set at the beginning of the year as of now. The turnovers we make from now on will exceed our expectations.”
Stating that there is a contraction in customer entry due to high costs, Serkan Karamanlı noted: “We tried to compensate for this as much as we could with innovations, and we have been relatively successful. Our work continues to take this further and reach more shipowners. We have higher expectations as of the second half of 2026. There will be a recovery in the market and an increase in freight rates. The locomotive of this business is the shipowner. As long as the shipowner earns, we can do business. I think that with their slight relief, there will be an opening in the market.”
7DENİZ/EXCLUSIVE
