2023 November December Marina World

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENTS
Atakoy Mega Yacht Marina has 232 berths
and is able to moor vessels up to 100m
(330ft). It is the only marina in Turkey
to have been built specifically for the
superyacht sector.
On the job training and exercises are
constantly being implemented for all
staff, and these processes are regularly
documented.”
Atakoy has manned security as well
as CCTV systems monitored on a 24/7
basis. “Our security management plan
has yielded very good results over the
past years. Additionally, the availability
of the Coast Guard and Sea Police
departments within the marina itself
provides additional security for our
premises.”
As well as being rich in terms of
facilities, Ertem believes Atakoy’s
location gives it an important edge. Not
only is it at the heart of Istanbul, one of
the great architectural and cultural cities
in the world, but it’s close to a perfect
airport.
“The biggest advantage of Atakoy
Marina is its vicinity to Ataturk Airport,
which used to serve as the main
international airport of Istanbul until the
opening of New Istanbul Airport,” he
says. “At the moment, Ataturk Airport
has been redesigned to serve as a VIP
terminal, mostly for business jets. This
creates a great strength for the future
development of our premises in terms
of providing a luxury service especially
for superyachts.”
He also thinks positively about the
local competition. “We have competition
nearby but all establishments have
satisfactory occupancy as well as
their own paths of business. I see it
as a potential for synergy rather than
competition. Each marina has its own
strengths and weaknesses. Our major
strength is that we have the biggest
megayacht berthing options in the
region.”
Ertem has spent over 20 years
working in the marina industry and
spent 13 of these years in Croatia
where he had extensive opportunities
for networking with the superyacht
industry’s key European and global
players. He worked as the regional
director and general manager for
Marina Mandalina in Sibenik for six
and a half years and is bringing all of
this experience to his new role. “By
using this huge network, I am trying to
contribute to the growth of our business
and I can confidently say that our
business with increasing megayacht
traffic in the last ten months seems
promising and sustainable.”
Marina Mandalina is, of course, an
award-winning superyacht facility. How
do Mandalina and Atakoy compare?
“Client expectations, service standards
and sufficiency of facilities stand out
as similarities,” Ertem notes. “The main
difference I feel between the two is that
Atakoy Mega Yacht Marina is located
in the heart of one of the biggest and
most well known metropolises in the
world. Istanbul has a huge marketing
effect and is a well deserved brand by
itself. Sibenik is a relatively small city
with great nature, great people and
archipelago. Atakoy Mega Yacht Marina
is much bigger than Marina Mandalina
in size and capacity. However, both
marinas represent a great asset value
as being amongst the limited amount of
such well organised facilities.”
“The biggest weakness I see for
Atakoy is its distance from the major
cruising destinations. However, this
turns out to be a strength as we have
a huge hinterland of shipyards around
Istanbul with impeccable know-how,
technical utilities, service quality and
cost efficiency. Istanbul is considered
a preferred destination among
superyachts en route to the Black Sea.
I am confident that our yacht traffic
will increase more as soon as the war
between Ukraine and Russia ends.”
Artun Ertem believes the challenges
for Atakoy and for the industry in
general relate to a very big picture.
“Global instability is the biggest
challenge, not only for Atakoy but for
the entire global business cycle. It
may become more devastating than
the pandemic unless preliminary
precautions are taken by the UN
immediately. The war between Russia
and Ukraine must come to an end as
well as the war in the Middle East.
We can only be happy and enjoy
running our businesses under peaceful
conditions. Wars only pump out hatred
and animosity, and we don’t want
people to die.”
“Our industry has been hit strongly
by these developments. The superyacht
industry and yachting market in
general have never experienced such
turbulence before. Our situation reflects
hope in despair, but we tend to stay on
the hopeful side.”
www.marinaworld.com – November/December 2023
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