Bilgin Yachts is an Istanbul-based shipyard dating back to the early 1900s. Having started as a small local business, it successfully grew into a world-renowned company with unique know-how in the yachting sector.
From the very beginning, Bilgin Yachts had a well-recognised experience in the superyacht sector. The shipyard was listed among the top 20 builders in the world after the delivery of 46.80-metre Bilgin 155 (Giaola-Lu) in 2016. In 2017, Giaola-Lu turned to be a great success by being one of the finalists for the World Superyacht Awards and ShowBoat Design Awards. Its success was followed by the 48-metre Nerissa which was also the finalist for the same awards with its interior design and naval architecture.
In 2016, Bilgin Yachts started to work in an additional production facility in the West Istanbul Marina. With the new facility, there is more space for wintering services for superyachts as well as building larger yachts, in addition to its own marine stainless steel and furniture facility beside the area where they create their specially designed furniture. Both facilities provide high-quality materials for Bilgin Yachts.
In the years since it was founded, Bilgin Yachts has successfully become a good representative of the yachting sector. Following the delivery of the first unit of 48-meter Bilgin 156 series, Starburst III (ex-Nerissa) to her owner in March 2019, the shipyard launched and delivered the second unit, named as Snow-5 (ex-Lilium) at the beginning of last summer. Built with aluminium and steel, Bilgin 156 yachts have a layout that pushes the limits in terms of the volume of interior and exterior living areas.
The shipyard has another project coming up in 2022: 74-meter Bilgin 243 which is under construction at the Yalova facility. Debuted as a project during the 2019 Monaco Yacht Show, this Bilgin 243 is expected to offer performance up to 17 knots.
Last but not least, in collaboration with Unique Yacht Design and H2 Design Ltd in interior and exterior lines of the series, Bilgin Yachts has currently built three units of the 80-meter Bilgin 263. The first hull of this series, named Tatiana, completed her first trial in April 2020 by proving her performance that goes up to 19 knots thanks to twin MTU engines. The second hull – which is already sold – is planned to be launched in 2021 and, following that, the third hull of the model will be delivered to her owner in 2022. The third unit, namely NB78, is being produced with a completely new layout and has currently been moved to the outfitting facility in West Istanbul Marina. Meanwhile, the new 85-meter ordered superyacht construction start is planned for May 2020 with delivery in 2023. On the other hand, the latest project is a 50-meter below 500GT superyacht, planned to be manufactured and completed as well in 2022. All current Bilgin yachts have modern lines, spacious interior, and exterior living areas as well as meeting all the latest manufacturing standards and best practices of the industry.
The shipyard emphasises eco-friendliness and sustainability by using a special exhaust system that provides 100% clean air emissions in its current projects. Built in compliance with IMO Tier III certification, these models are considered to be the most environmental yachts in their classes.