Bilgin eyes connections to ‘feed our souls’
Berkay Yilmaz is the commercial director of Bilgin Yachts in Turkey.
His client was close to signing the contract for his 12th and perhaps last yacht, but he needed to see the merchandise first.
The Central American had previously owned yachts from Italian or UK builders but his friend, the owner of the 50m Bilgin-built Camila, persuaded him to visit the yard in Turkey.
He liked what he saw but stopped in at Monaco on the way home to see Camila, delivered in 2025 and on display at the yacht show, in the flesh. The following day the client, his surveyor and lawyers met back on Camila to sign a contract with Bilgin for a new vessel.
“It was his last check before he committed. He wants to build the best yacht in the 499GT category,” says Berkay Yilmaz, commercial director, Bilgin Yachts.
“These are big commitments. The owner of Camila might be happy, but the quality is subjective. They might both be very experienced clients but they do see different defects, different perspectives.”
Camila’s Mexican owner also seems happy and after a “wonderful season” is upgrading to a 60m, 1,000GT yacht, again with Bilgin.
“I’m glad we are expanding and continuing our relationship with him,” adds Yilmaz.
Camila is a 50m 499GT Bilgin 163 II delivered in 2025.
Business plan
Bilgin is born out of five generations of Turkish boatbuilding heritage stretching back to the early 1900s in Salacak, Istanbul.
Now headquartered in western Istanbul, it has five facilities across Turkey with 90% of production carried out in-house.
It claims to be the leading producer of superyachts by number in Turkey and has become known for celebrated vessels such as the 80m Tatania in 2020, which broke the record for Turkey’s largest superyacht, followed by the award-winning sistership Leona and a third Bilgin 263 Al Reem.
The five-year plan up to 2025 was to have 10 projects under way across two yards but Bilgin has surpassed that with 14 builds from 52-86m. All projects are semi-custom and begun speculatively, with up to eight platforms available for further customisation of the general arrangement (GA) and the interior styling. An order for a new 499GT yacht will be delivered in 2027, while 2029 is the timescale for an 80m-plus yacht ordered today.
“This business plan was deliberately set up after we realised full custom projects take too long,” says Yilmaz.
“Sometimes it creates hesitation in clients, because nobody wants to wait three, four years to buy a 499 GT yacht, unless they do really find a deal.
“But the flexibility we offer gives the feeling of building full custom yachts for our clients. This is the main driving factor of our success that we achieved in last four or five years.”
Mindset
About 90% of Bilgin’s clients are from Europe or the Middle East, with a decent number from Central or South America. Most come with brokers but a handful have approached directly and signed a contract. Yilmaz insists inquiries are healthy.
“Knock on wood, demand is still very high. People are out there,” he says.
“Of course, there are more yachts and the clients are more selective, but I think we do offer very good value in terms of quality, flexibility and the price. That is why we are busier and we are increasing our capacity year by year.”
Yilmaz often jokes that Bilgin’s base on the European side of Istanbul gives them an advantage but he always goes back to the heritage of the craftsmanship and the desire for innovation.
“We are not building the vessel from a mindset of we have to make the best profit,” says Yilmaz, a naval architect and marine engineer. “No. Every boat we do, we want to build a better quality yacht because leadership, upper management, we are all boat builders. We are not like managers who are not really part of the production. The priority is to make our clients happy, to build their dream yachts.
“We want them to enjoy the design and build process. Of course, they will have great memories after the delivery but if you design and build their yachts in an enjoyable way, you are making this whole process more fun, more enjoyable for them.”
One key tactic when talking to prospective clients is to provide references from owners, surveyors or brokers who have worked with the yard during the design, build or after-sales process.
“After I do that, most of the time we get successful and sign contracts,” he says.
‘Feeds our souls’
In terms of trends, Yilmaz sees an increasing appetite for outdoor space on his yachts, which is why Camila and other 499GT versions boast equal exterior floor space to larger 60m vessels.
“This is one of the most successful trends in our shipyard, which is why we’ve sold about 10 units of these projects,” he says.
Yilmaz suggests Bilgin’s client age profiles have lowered in the past 10-15 years with 90% in the 45-60 years old range, with only a handful over 70. However, he says he hasn’t noticed a rumoured influx of much younger prospects who have made quick money from cryptocurrency, for example.
“Generally speaking, there are more experienced, educated clients in the industry,” he says. “The yachting experience is getting popular, more accessible, which feeds us, motivates us. This is a passion. This is an experience for us to make connections with people.
“If we create more connections, that feeds our souls, our businesses. That’s why I’m excited for the future.”
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