Riza Tansu and Sinan Ozer have known each other for over 30 years. The pair have a lot in common: they are both successful businessmen and have dedicated most of their lives to crafting and creating vessels. Yet until now, it was never on the cards to work together to shake up the superyacht sector in the Mediterranean.
Tansu is known for his pioneering eponymous shipyard that produced modernist, military-inspired superyachts. And in a similar vein, Ozer is the founder of the full-service Turkish shipyard, Aegean Yacht. Having perfected their business as individuals, the decision for Tansu and Ozer to join forces as business partners was an easy one. “At Aegean Yacht, we have remained good friends with Riza Tansu since the eighties, and we had been following each other with enthusiasm since then,” explains Ozer.
After Tansu closed his eponymous shipyard in Istanbul in 2020, he was looking for an opportunity to continue sharing his popular military-inspired yacht designs. “The decision to join forces was rather sudden. We saw the light and we both said ‘why not!’ and confirmed the partnership during the autumn of 2021.”
With Tansu as one of the yard’s designers and on hand to oversee the builds, Aegean Yacht is strengthening its already broad offering which includes explorer, motor and sailing yachts such as the 57 metre The Langley (ex: Montigne) – one of Aegean’s larger builds. The new products are intended for clients who want simple, seaworthy, practical and minimalistic designs. “Our superyacht customer is not a beginner,” continues Ozer. “They know what they want, and can get really involved and contribute to the design and engineering process while being trusting of our expertise in design and construction.”
On the seafront between Bodrum and Antalya, Aegean Yacht boasts a huge 40,000 square metres of yard space. And, after a quick reorganisation of the yard’s three hangars, there was enough room to accommodate the all-new Tansu-designed builds in one single hangar. “Aegean can build up to six yachts at the same time and if needed, we can use our substantial building permit to extend our facilities at very short notice. The hangar we have allocated to Tansu is 50 metres by 50 metres, and is connected to our brand-new showroom, offices and workshops that are all dedicated to our Tansu projects,” adds Ozer.
In addition to Tansu’s projects, Aegean Yacht is building a 66-metre Trideck motor yacht, a 39-metre motorsailer and a 26-metre explorer – all due for delivery in 2023 and 2024. The Tansu products that are currently in build are in the form of two superyachts – the 37.7-metre Project Vortex and the 40-metre Project T-Rex – that are due to be ready in 2024 and 2025. “The 37-metre project is a modern, Tansu-style steel and aluminium yacht. The delivery time for this design is 24 months, and we are already well into the engineering phase with the keel to be laid soon for an experienced client,” explains Ozer. “The 40-metre project is not yet started, but she will also stand out as a Tansu design with striking details. We plan to begin the construction on speculation and deliver this vessel approximately 30 months from now. For us, building on-spec represents a near-zero risk, as we know which boats will sell.
The new Tansu yachts will be able to reach top speeds between 14 and 15 knots and, in a similar vein to the existing Tigershark series which includes the 36-metre Preference 19, the new designs have stark geometric lines, the masculine, robust look of a go-anywhere explorer yacht and a fuss-free layout with a large open beach club. Speaking of his designs, Tansu explains that there are no complex doors, garages or balconies, which can be difficult to produce and maintain.
In terms of innovations, Ozer mirrors Tansu’s desire for an uncomplicated vessel and states that the team have acted in response to what the market is demanding for the type of equipment on board and the brands behind them. “We want to keep things as simple as possible inside these vessels, as we want our vessels to be genuine “explorers” that can travel around the world without technical worries. After all, we want the client to have the most use and enjoyment out of the boat as possible,” he adds. “Riza is a design wizard. These designs certainly stand out in comparison to similar yachts on the market, and are destined to attract attention wherever they go.”
With more yachts said to be in negotiation, the new partnership will benefit from Tansu’s ambition to build proper seaworthy vessels and Aegean’s reputation as an efficient, resilient and speedy builder. As Ozer insists, the experience of building a yacht with Aegean and Tansu will no doubt be an enjoyable one. “Aegean Yachts has been building boats since 1976 and we are very excited to join forces with Riza Tansu. He is a fun friend to be with and we enjoy building boats together with clients who we will always go above and beyond to create the right environment for.”
To find out more about Aegean Yacht, contact the company directly here.
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