Shipyard Famagusta: Navigating Industry Challenges and Driving Innovation in Shipbuilding & Repair

In the era of providing services for vessels operating in the Eastern Mediterranean, Shipyard Famagusta is focused on staying competitive in the rapidly changing market.

In this interview, Shipyard Famagusta’s General Manager, Musa Gökalp Gündoğdu, discusses with Robban Assafina about the recent in-house chrome liner welding & grinding machine investment, aimed at reducing delivery periods for new projects.

Could you give us a brief overview of the new services the shipyard has introduced recently to meet the evolving demands of the maritime industry?
To support our repair works, we have recently acquired a chrome liner welding & grinding machine and an ultrasonic cleaning bath, both of which have improved the quality of our work and reduced repair times. We are also in the process of setting up our production line, which will be a separate workshop area next to the main warehouse, featuring CNC cutting, welding lines, and other production facilities. With this new workshop, we aim to reduce the delivery times for our new builds.

How do you plan to remain competitive and innovative in the rapidly changing global maritime industry?

Looking at data from the past four years, we can see that our existing customers make up 75 to 80% of our projects each year. This demonstrates that satisfied customers continue to bring business. That’s why we prioritize customer satisfaction above all else. We ensure that ship owners leave the yard happy, even if that means sacrificing some financial gain. We also strive to measure satisfaction and collect written feedback from our customers. As part of this process, our yard has recently acquired the ISO 10001:2018 Customer Satisfaction standard certificate.
Additionally, it’s crucial for us to stay engaged within the sector to better understand customers’ changing needs. For instance, over the past year, we’ve seen an increase in newbuilding requests, prompting us to invest in a production line-type workshop.

With the expansion of shipyard’s service workshops, what are the key features of these workshops, particularly in terms of reducing time and costs for clients?
We now offer in-house chrome liner welding & grinding. Previously, we relied on a partner workshop in Adana, Turkey. Offering this service in-house allows us to reduce delivery time and costs, as there are no transfers involved.
While we believe that cooperation leads to more work, and we’re happy to work with many subcontractors and service suppliers, the customer demands fast and cost-effective service. This is achievable by offering services in-house. We focus our investments on covering these needs.

As Shipyard Famagusta’s new building department operates year-round, producing tugs and mooring boats, how is the shipyard adapting to the latest trends and overcoming the challenges currently facing the shipbuilding industry?

The newbuilding sector is ever-evolving. There is always something new—whether it’s a better system or updated regulations. Staying up-to-date is essential in order to advise customers on the best options. To achieve this, we collaborate with the best design offices in the world. Our 18-ton bollard pull Famatug series was a huge success, but we’re seeing that our customers are starting to request changes. This signals that it’s time to upgrade. As a customer-focused yard, we listen to our customers and adapt accordingly.

How do you see the Middle East market influencing the future direction of your services? Do you plan to invest in new markets in this region?
Middle Eastern ship owners make up nearly 50% of our annual ship repair business. Over the years, we have developed strong relationships with many Middle Eastern ship owners, and our hope is to see them thrive in a peaceful environment.

Shipyard Famagusta recently participated in Exposhipping Istanbul 2025. What insights did the shipyard gain from this event to stay at the forefront of the global shipbuilding industry?
Attending shipping fairs is always a valuable experience. We get to meet with our current customers and learn about new developments in the shipbuilding and repair sectors. We also had the opportunity to meet many new suppliers. Being located on an island, we seize every chance to connect with suppliers who can provide parts more quickly or at a lower cost. Additionally, we met numerous individuals interested in newbuilding projects.

What are 2025 plans for Shipyard Famagusta?
We expect 2025 to be a slower year compared to 2024 in terms of ship repair business, as the effects are already becoming evident. However, we choose to look at the positive side. This year, we will be able to offer earlier docking slots and urgent docking slots for emergency works. A slowdown in repair business also means we can focus more on increasing our newbuild projects.