Shipyard Famagusta is keen to retain on looking for new investments and projects that will allow to answer more client problems faster and cheaper. Cagla Izkan Ozgunduz, Marketing Manager at Shipyard famagusta  tells Robban Assafina that a big collaboration project is to be announced soon, in line with continued investments and increasing service workshops and in house capabilities.

How does Shipyard Famagusta evaluate the first half of 2023 in terms of projects and business? 
The first half of 2023 has been busy for the ship repair industry again. We have surpassed our goal of 25 completed projects for the first half of the year with the immense efforts of our on-site team. Also, we have seen an increase in the number of docking and BWTS requests, which is understandable as the shipowners are running out of extension times to complete their ballast water treatment systems. 

All of this has forced us to extend our supply chain, our subcontractor teams, form new partnerships and develop new capabilities in house in a very short time. 

Tell us about the shipyard's capabilities and features, are you planning to increase its capacity?
Currently, we are working with one 8500-ton capacity floating dock, 140 full time workers capable of hull treatment, steel and pipe works, mechanical and electrical works. With current business, it makes sense for us to increase capabilities and features as the owners are looking to be out of the dock even faster than before because they have more potential cargoes now. 

We have an option which is looking for additional staff, i.e. subcontractors to increase production and usually we go for it when needed. But subcontractor also means that the yard has less control over the quality of work, so it makes more sense for us to increase our in house capabilities. For instance, this year we trained a group of our welders and they have been certified by RINA for Aluminum welding. 

Another thing that we are doing is increasing service workshops. This means less time in transferring parts to workshops and less cost. As part of this, within the first half of this year, we have started offering chrome liner grinding, chrome liner manufacture and turbocharger overhauls in house. 

What is Shipyard Famagusta’s lookout regarding opportunities in the Middle East? Do you plan to invest in new markets?
Middle Eastern ship owners made up around 37% of our customers in 2022. We have friendly business relationships with many shipowners from Lebanon, Syria and UAE. Along with our current customers, we are also fully aware of the potential customers in the area. 

We are focusing on what we do best: ship repair and new buildings. Within the ship repair part, we have great experience with livestock, general cargo and tugs, along with other type of vessels. Within the new building, our experience lies with tug boats, mooring boats and barges. While investing into new markets is required for growth, at the moment we are focusing on improving ourselves to serve our current customer base better.  

How is Famagusta employing the latest technologies in its services? And what about the training in that aspect?
Our planned maintenance and investments team is a team of engineers and technicians with on-site experience. They are people who understand what is needed on site to ensure better quality and faster work. By following industry developments, they are able to choose and focus on what the yard can invest in or which areas need development. 

For instance, within this year, this department was responsible for the purchase of additional forklifts, manlifts and cherry pickers and the new chrome liner grinding lathe workshop, along with the training of our staff for the use of new equipment.
 
Currently, they are also looking into new investments such as thermal spraying equipment, horizontal balancing equipment and other heavy machinery. The important thing is to understand the customers’ needs and to invest more in equipment & training that will either produce better quality or faster work, as ensuring fast & good quality work is the only way to earn new customers.  

40 projects for different types of ships were accomplished in 2022, much of which were for the shipyard’s current/old clients. What is your strategy to attract new clients?
Within 2022, 75% of completed projects were for old customers and 25% were new customers. While this percentage is a point of honor for our yard that shows our customers are happy to work with us, it also highlights an area of development. 

It is a known fact that recommendation by other owners is the best way to get new customers. We are a customer focused company and always put extra effort to ensure that they leave this yard happy and satisfied. As part of this, we are receiving the ISO 10002 “Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations” this year.

Our other activities are related to attracting new clients including visiting potential ones, offering site visits & being present in shipping events such as Robban Assafina’s Maritime Awards Night or the Europort Exhibition at the end of the year.

What is Shipyard Famagusta’s lookout on the building projects?
Our yard’s expertise lies with ship repair and hence 80% of our daily efforts go to repair activities. However, with previous projects we have seen that we have a very capable team for new building. Previously, new building and steel works teams were under the same roof. Since the end of 2022 we have a separate new building department whose staff members are in production all year round, producing tug and mooring boats ready for sale. This means we are able to offer very short lead times to customers, and less time pressure equals better quality work. 

What can you tell us about Shipyard famagusta’s participation in Robban Assafina Maritime Awards night?
We are always able to see a return from Robban Assafinas’ events; either with request from new owners or new contacts made. The awards night was no different. For us, it was wonderfully planned, fun with a relaxed environment where we had a chance to see friends from the industry and meet many different people. The awards night was much needed in gathering this part of the world where many people from the shipping industry are based and we hope this night becomes a standard annual event. 

Any upcoming plans for Shipyard famagusta ?
We have a big collaboration project to be announced soon, that will allow us to answer more of our customers’ problems faster and cheaper but we will keep it under the radar for the moment as the investments continue.

Robban Assafina Magazine, Issue 85, Jul./Aug. 2023, Maritime Host, pg. 95

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	Issue 86 of Robban Assafina (Jul./ Aug. 2023)