Spotlight on the Mediterranean and Black Sea

Spotlight on the Mediterranean and Black Sea

Besiktas Shipyard reinforces its LNG focus, substantial investment at Hat-San, Constanta Shipyard goes green, Gibdock raises its OSV profile and a mixed bag at Multimarine Shipyards.

Besiktas Shipyard in Turkey, one of Europe’s most active ship repair yards, continues to expand its capacity and capabilities, especially in the LNG and FSRU segments. With two floating docks over 300m in length operating simultaneously and a total of six docks across the Besiktas Group shipyards – including Besiktas, Art, and Park Shipyards – the group handles over 300 complex ship repair and conversion projects annually.

Following the commissioning of its new 85,000 TLC floating dock in May – one of the largest in Europe at 345m long and 70m wide – Besiktas Shipyard has taken a bold step towards becoming a regional hub for LNG and FSRU vessels. This dock allows the yard to accommodate very heavy ships and platforms, including oil rigs, FPSOs and cruiseships.

Today, Besiktas Shipyard boasts the capacity to simultaneously accommodate up to three LNG/FSRU vessels, offering advanced expertise in conversion, upgrade, and mid-life extension projects – a segment that has grown significantly in 2025.

Besiktas Shipyard has two floating docks over 300m in length

Flagship projects in 2025

Several standout projects have marked the shipyard’s progress this year, including:

• Energos Winter – The first-ever FSRU repair project in Turkey, including a full upgrade package.
• Pascal Paoli – A comprehensive modernisation of a RoRo.
• Pacific Sentinel – Rotor sail installation as part of a green propulsion initiative.
• Bos Princess – Conversion into a state-of-the-art geotechnical drilling vessel.

The yard has long been among the most preferred facilities in the region for complex repair and conversion projects – a trend that is set to continue in the coming period.

The Bos Princess was converted into a state-of-the-art geotechnical drilling vessel.

Shared strength

With Besiktas Shipyard, Art Shipyard, and Park Shipyard operating under the Besiktas Group Shipyards umbrella, the organisation continues to lead the Turkish maritime sector. The group not only offers geographical flexibility and capacity but also shared engineering know-how and operational synergy, allowing it to serve a wide range of global clients with unmatched efficiency.

Looking ahead: LNG & sustainability

Having been the first accredited shipyard in the region for LNG ship repairs in 2021, Besiktas Shipyard is committed to growing its LNG service portfolio. In parallel, the shipyard is expanding its mechanical and cryogenic workshops, enhancing its ability to handle LNG repairs and upgrades more effectively and safely.

Aiming to become a regional LNG service centre, the shipyard is positioning itself at the forefront of the industry’s energy transition. Alongside LNG, the yard is preparing to attract more cruise vessels, especially with the introduction of eco-friendly hull surface preparation technologies. Starting in December, two floating docks will be equipped for water-based blasting, significantly reducing environmental impact compared to traditional methods.

Green transition

Besiktas Shipyard’s commitment to sustainability is also reflected in its investments in solar energy. Through two major projects – a 220-acre (89 ha) solar farm and an upcoming rooftop installation, together providing a total capacity of 25MW – the shipyard will generate more than twice the energy it consumes annually, significantly reducing carbon emissions and energy costs.

Substantial investment at Turkey’s Hat-San

“Driven by our commitment for continuous growth and serving our partners, we’ve made substantial investments in our shipyard this year,” explains Özgün Oruc Manager of Hat-San’s Repair Marketing Department. “As of Q4 2025, we have successfully completed a wide range of repair projects, demonstrating both the quality and flexibility of our services. Our facilities have been consistently utilised across a diverse fleet, with over 40 repair projects successfully delivered this year.”

This portfolio includes major works on RoRos (including PCCs), bulk carriers, chemical/oil product tankers and containerships. “We have also completed repair projects for specialised vessels, such as dredgers and a large power station vessel, showcasing our technical adaptability,” says Oruc.

To further enhance its service offering and accommodate larger projects, Hat-San is announcing two major additions to the shipyard:

• New floating dock: Hat-San Shipyard’s new floating dock, featuring a length of 230m and 38m inner beam, is scheduled to be fully operational within Q4 2025. This addition significantly boosts the yard’s drydocking capacity and reduces waiting times for clients.
• New workshop: Hat-San has completed construction of a new, 3,000m² workshop. This new facility increases the yard’s in-house steel and outfitting fabrication capacity and gives faster turnaround times for complex repairs.

Hat-San Shipyard’s new floating dock

Constanta Shipyard goes green

In response to the pressing challenges of climate change and the rising costs of energy and raw materials, Constanta Shipyard in Romania has made a strategic decision to reduce operational expenses and align its activities with EU and national environmental regulations and sustainability goals.

The first major step toward a greener future was taken some years ago with the acquisition of state-of-the-art ultra-high-pressure (UHP) and high-pressure (HP) hydro-jetting equipment, investing over €3.5 million. This includes:

• 15 UHP pumps with pressures up to 3,000 bar
• 4 HP pumps up to 2,000 bar
• Approximately 15 specialised units, including lift worker beams, multi workers, line workers, lift jets and surface robots.

These systems provide high-quality water-jetted surfaces for ship hulls, main decks, cargo holds and more – without the use of abrasive grit – thus eliminating waste and reducing environmental impact.

The equipment has proved its effectiveness over the years, with increasing customer satisfaction and growing demand for this environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional surface preparation. The ability to work continuously, combined with reduced waste and a favourable cost-performance ratio, confirms that Constanta Shipyard has taken the right first step on its sustainability journey.

Investing in renewable energy

Building on this progress, the next major milestone in the shipyard’s green transformation is the development of renewable energy generation capabilities.

Located on the sunny coast of Constanta, the shipyard has invested over €1.8 million in a 3.2 MWp photovoltaic power plant. The project is co-financed through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, managed by the Ministry of Energy, with 70% of the investment covered by the shipyard’s own funds.

Key project details include:

• Installation site: 45,000 sqm rooftop of the Hull Workshop
• Solar modules: 5,472 photovoltaic panels, each with a nominal power of 585 Wp
• Inverters: Units with capacities of 125 kW and 100 kW
• Transformer station: Newly built, 2 x 1,600 kVA, 0.4/6kV
• Connection: Integrated into the existing 6 kV grid via new transformer infrastructure
• Operation mode: Self-consumption.

The photovoltaic plant became operational at the end of spring 2025 and is projected to cover approximately 35% of the shipyard’s annual energy consumption, significantly reducing dependency on conventional power sources.

Constanta Shipyard’s photovoltaic plant became operational at the end of spring 2025

Constanta Shipyard remains committed to reducing its environmental footprint and embracing sustainable innovation in both operations and infrastructure. These initiatives mark only the beginning of a long-term transformation aligned with global and national efforts toward a greener maritime industry.

Gibdock raises its OSV profile

Gibdock has completed a series of high-profile offshore support vessel (OSV) projects in recent months to consolidate its reputation for delivering exceptional and timely service to the offshore industry.

In a significant and growing market for Gibdock, the Gibraltar-based ship repair yard has established itself as a trusted strategic partner to several major offshore players by consistently executing projects on time, within budget and to the highest safety and quality standards.

As part of an ongoing relationship with Boskalis, Gibdock has completed works on the trailing hopper suction dredger Gateway, the construction support vessel BOKA Southern Ocean and the multipurpose construction vessel BOKA Fulmar in recent months. Other significant OSV projects this year include the repair of Subsea 7’s construction/flex-lay vessel Seven Pacific and the repair and renewal of Technip’s specialised rigid pipe-lay vessel Deep Blue.

With Solstad’s anchor-handling tug supply vessel Normand Pacific currently in the yard for renewal, and many more projects in the pipeline for the year ahead, Gibdock’s outlook in the offshore support segment is strong.

“Offshore majors trust Gibdock because of our track record in delivering safe, high-quality, and on-time services at good value,” commented John Barnard, Commercial Director, Gibdock. “We work closely with these companies to provide bespoke projects and conversions within a timeline that suits them. Due to the strong and growing demand for our OSV services, we encourage proactive engagement: interested parties should approach us early, even when projects are planned for two or three years out, so we can ensure availability and provide tailored input.”

significant OSV projects this year include the repair of Subsea 7’s construction/flex-lay vessel Seven Pacific at Gibdock

Variety at Multimarine

Multimarine Shipyards is based inside Limassol Port, Cyprus and operates a modern, state-of-the-art drydocking facilities and a dedicated repairs quay for afloat works.

“In the past weeks our shipyard was engaged in the following projects,” says Pavlos Phokas

Commercial Director, Multimarine Services Ltd: “The refit and drydocking of mega-yacht Pelorus, a Special Survey of the tanker Iris and the lift out of the water of the shipyard-owned 400t barge Atlas in preparation for the retrofit of the Horizon Blue Barge Project.

The yard also recently drydocked Tidewater’s platform supply vessel Lundstrom Tide.”

The mega-yacht Pelorus at Multimarine Shipyards