Transforming Yacht Safety: Turkey's Evolving Maritime Sector

Turkey's yacht sector is no longer an area that can be defined solely by the number of boats along our coasts. When considering yacht construction, maintenance and repair, marina operations, technical support, operational culture, professional crew, and tourism together, we are talking about a serious economic and technical ecosystem. The year 2026 has become a period where safety and competency regulations accompanying this growth have become more visible as of the third quarter, and it is quite foreseeable that new regulations are on the way.

The Regulation on the Equipment of Private Vessels and the Competencies of Individuals Using Private Vessels, published in the Official Gazette dated January 17, 2026, and numbered 33140, which came into effect on July 17, 2026, separates amateur sailor competencies according to boat size into ADB 10 and ADB 24; introduces transitional provisions for existing document holders; and foresees the equipping of private boats and yachts according to the safety equipment specified in Annex II. With the changes made in July, application details such as the acceptance of sailor competency certificates for private vessels up to 10 meters and the updating of the Annex II equipment list are also clarified.

With the Ministry's approach, not only equipment but also training and competency are emphasized. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey highlighted the strengthening of training processes, authorizations based on boat size, and the widespread adoption of digitalization while announcing the new regulation. This should be evaluated by considering the question 'What will be on the boat?' with the concept 'Who will use the boat, with what knowledge and competency?' as a reflection of the industry's and profession's risks and complexities, as well as its seniority and value.

Immediately following this, the latest regulation regarding the minimum safety equipment of ships and marine vehicles constitutes another important topic that should be evaluated from the perspective of the yacht sector. In this regulation, yachts are assessed within the same general sanction framework as tankers and other commercial vessels, including the scope conditions. Therefore, in the event of a non-compliance regarding minimum safety equipment, the criteria set forth in the regulation are prioritized rather than the operational nature of the yacht. The discussion here should not focus on the existence of sanctions, the high figures, or the reduction of safety standards; rather, it should emphasize the necessity of developing more detailed sub-regulations for marine vehicles with different purposes and operational characteristics while maintaining the same safety goals, of course, requiring stakeholders in the sector who have made a profession of operation, operation, and equipment to come together at the same table to develop these in the most applicable and clearly defined manner.

I find it necessary to support the safety obligation with a strong sanction. However, the purpose of yacht operations, personnel structure, navigation profile, and operational risks significantly differ from those of tankers, cargo ships, and other types of commercial vessels. I believe that in the upcoming period, the discussion should be advanced beyond the level of 'how much is the fine?' While fines are certainly important as a legal norm's sanction, the real gain lies in having the right equipment on board without the need for penalties, ensuring timely maintenance, and allowing the right person to perform the right job. While change is inherently a painful concept, the culture of safety may not be easily digestible in the early days of this change. However, once established, it becomes an invaluable asset that simplifies daily operations, clarifies responsibilities, and most importantly, protects human life. The term 'invaluable' here is not metaphorical. The discussion should not be about lowering safety standards or sanctions; rather, it should focus on accurately and practically defining this step according to the real risks of the yacht sector.

Which Costs More?

In this paragraph, where the flow inevitably drags the discussion towards costs, it is necessary to accept that discussions about high costs are natural. The yacht sector is already a high-cost ecosystem. It is a well-known situation among those in the industry that the costs of equipment, service, maintenance, and certification services can reach higher amounts compared to similar products and services when it comes to yachts. Therefore, the applicability of new obligations, the accessibility of service networks, and real market costs are also legitimate parts of the safety discussion.

However, we also need to discuss the other side of the cost calculation with the same clarity. When discussing the price of a new fire extinguisher, what line do we write the real cost of an expired, improperly serviced, or non-functional fire extinguisher? When calculating the service cost of lifesaving equipment, how do we account for equipment that fails to perform its unique duty when needed? The answers to these questions have little to do with money; the main roles are the continuity of operations, environmental damage, and most importantly, human life.

Official accident investigations take this discussion out of the theoretical realm. Among the publicly available reports of the Transportation Safety Investigation Center (UEİM), there are striking examples concerning yachts, private boats, and passenger/excursion vessels. In one such case, the ANEMONE incident, an 18.75-meter Turkish-flagged private boat sank shortly after departing from Bozburun with 2 crew members and 9 passengers in 2017; 3 people lost their lives, and 2 were injured. The investigation evaluated the open personnel entrance door, the condition of watertight compartments and openings, and pre-navigation checks from a safety perspective. The report also included safety recommendations for effectively monitoring the seaworthiness of private vessels after registration in the mooring registry.

UEİM records also contain other investigations related to collisions of private vessels and fires occurring in passenger and excursion vessels. In the DURAMAZ–AYGEN MERT case, the effective monitoring of the seaworthiness of private vessels was brought to the forefront; the fire affecting the vessels MOZİ-07, RAINBOW-07, BAHAR-07, and THE LAST KING is noteworthy for demonstrating the consequences of an incident that started on one vessel extending to other moored vessels and the surrounding area.

It should be noted that the mentioned accidents are not all the yacht and boat accidents that occurred in Turkey but are examples of incidents that have been taken under investigation by UEİM and have turned into publicly available final reports. Therefore, it would not be correct to determine the total number of accidents or accident frequency in the sector based on the number of these reports.

Indeed, even at the beginning of the 2026 summer season, we witnessed fires, sinkings, groundings, and other maritime incidents involving private boats, excursion boats, and passenger vessels that were reflected in the public eye. Although these incidents may not be included in the published report list of UEİM, they remind us of the same thing: The purpose of the boat's use, its size, or its status may change; the risks we must manage at sea do not disappear.

Dangerous Separation

It seems that in this vast sector, which we can neither define as separating nor uniting, the fundamental physics of yachts remains unchanged. Fire continues to burn and destroy, water continues to enter, and speed continues to amplify collision energy. Weather conditions, fatigue, decision-making, maintenance quality, and emergency preparedness do not behave differently based on whether 'private' or 'commercial' is written in the boat registry. The scope of the legislation may change; however, the risk itself does not read the purpose of use.

Therefore, while maintaining the legal distinction between private yachts and commercial yachts, it is essential not to create a dangerous separation in the understanding of safety. I specifically choose the word dangerous; the first issue that stands out in the distinction of size-tonnage and boat notation is compliance with rules, and thus the perception that safety requirements can be met through secondary alternative methods is seen as an attractive factor by many parties, which can lead to irreversible dead ends. Not every private yacht is subject to all provisions of SOLAS, the ISM Code, or the MLC; the criteria for the scope of international regulations exist for this reason. However, the non-mandatory nature of a provision does not mean that the danger it seeks to manage does not exist. The value of good seamanship comes to light precisely here: being able to manage the area between obligation and reasonable safety measures with professional knowledge and common sense.

The same approach applies to boat personnel. A safe boat requires not only a list of equipment but also competent human resources capable of using that equipment. The professional competency and training of the captain, watch officer, engineer, sailor, or other boat personnel should be viewed not as a cost factor but as one of the fundamental layers of operational security. As the level of education, experience, and continuous professional development increases, the true value of the expensive technology on board will also emerge.

Record Level in Exports

Turkey's yacht construction and export performance also demonstrate why this discussion is timely. In 2025, the export of the ship, yacht, and services sector increased by 17.4% compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 2.24 billion USD, marking the highest annual export level in the sector's history. According to the Global Mega Yacht Order Book data for the same year, Turkey rose to second place in the world after Italy in terms of the total length of yachts to be built, accounting for approximately 14% of the global total length with 146 mega yacht orders and a total order length of 6,410 meters.

This momentum continued in 2026 as well; the sector reached approximately 1.5 billion USD in exports in the first six months of the year. This scale transforms the development of a safety culture in the yacht sector from merely a matter of regulatory compliance into an important issue regarding the sector's sustainability, international reputation, and competitiveness.

For a sector that generates such high added value, developing a safety culture with the same technical maturity is valuable not only in terms of regulatory compliance but also for the country's international reputation and competitiveness.

Yacht Sector Legislation

Maritime legislation can be standardized through special regulations tailored to different areas of activity, from wastewater management to hazardous cargo operations, from passenger ships to fishing vessels, according to their technical and operational characteristics. All parts indicate that the time has come for this approach in the yacht sector as well.

Firstly, a comprehensive technical study should be shaped that reveals the current structure of the sector, types of boats, size and tonnage groups, purposes of use, personnel models, operational areas, and accident data from recent years; this should be presented to Turkish maritime as a living report to develop itself. This step has been initiated with the data collection phase. This study will be a lifeline for a broadly participatory commission, and subsequently, the flag state rules applicable to Turkish-flagged yachts and the coastal state provisions applicable to foreign-flagged yachts navigating in Turkish territorial waters can be legally and operationally differentiated in their most applicable form. The resulting study can ultimately be compiled under a Turkey-specific, understandable, and applicable Code.

I believe that such a regulation should be prepared not at the table but by expanding the table. The Ministry's and relevant public authorities' experience in regulation and supervision should meet the field knowledge and experience of personnel from my boat units, including captains, technical managers, shipyards, marinas, classification societies, training institutions, the insurance sector, professional organizations, and boat owners. With the involvement of boat owners, it will emphasize that the profession is not merely 'yachting' but 'seamanship,' and contribute to the awareness that being exempt from even the smallest component of the safety culture should not be a preference but rather a matter to be questioned among the most crucial 'must-have' items.

Because our goal should be to place the yacht sector, from its producers to operators, from its operators to developers, into a more robustly defined, measurable, and applicable safety system with accurately identified risks.

Here, I see an important opportunity to bring the regulatory will of the public authority together with the sector's knowledge and experience. The ministry, port authorities, Coast Guard, accident investigation authority, professional organizations, classification societies, shipyards, marinas, technical services, the insurance side, operating companies, boat owners, and seafarers are different links in the same safety chain. Measuring the impact of regulations in the field, seeing cost and accessibility issues with real data, learning from accidents and near-miss incidents, and improving implementation when necessary can only be possible with this flow of information.

Turkey's production power, maritime experience, and skilled human resources in the yacht sector provide a strong foundation for this transformation.

Now the issue is to monitor and develop the new regulations not merely as items to be complied with but alongside the realities in the field.

If we can position safety not as a cost barrier in front of the growing sector but as a part of the infrastructure that sustains growth; the boat owner, seafarer, environment, and public will all be winners in the same picture.

Alev AKTUĞ AKPINAR

Member of the Board of Directors of TMMOB GEMIMO

Source: SeaNews Türkiye