Nazile Karaca

UZMAR was founded in 1972 by Senior Harbour Pilot Captain Altay Altug, as “The First Private Pilotage & Towage Company of Turkey”, serving various private ports and harbors in Turkey. Since the very first day of its establishment, UZMAR has followed and preserved the traditions and the values of maritime heritage. Today UZMAR serves pilotage, towage, salvage, and emergency response duties to public safety at Nemrut Port, Izmir, Akcansa Port, Canakkale, Ambarlı Port, Istanbul, and Iskenderun Port, Hatay. UZMAR serves with more than 350 employees, 29 vessels, 30 captain pilots, and annually conducts 30.000+ ship maneuvers at 4 different locations. In 1993 UZMAR started to build tugboats for its own fleet requirements and later for the international market using modern vessel designs from Robert Allan Ltd., an internationally recognized naval architecture company from Canada. Since the first UZMAR-built tug was delivered to its own account, UZMAR Shipyard has established itself as the go-to builder of advanced quality tugs and workboats along with a various range of high-performance vessels. Through the achievement of building numerous state-of-the-art vessels, in 2005 UZMAR established a modern shipbuilding facility at Kocaeli Free Zone, near Istanbul, one of the most strategic locations in Europe, with an advanced shipbuilding system of station-based serial production method. Based on its comprehensive experiences in tugboat operations and shipbuilding, UZMAR has implemented a vision of a unique production method, by utilizing progressive engineering solutions and advanced shipbuilding technologies to execute excellent projects such as; “The First IMO TIER III Certified Tugboat of Canada” or “The Largest Robert Allen Design Ever Been Built in Turkey”. From being the first private pilotage & towage operator in Turkey, UZMAR has grown into a world-class shipbuilder and has proudly built more than 200 vessels for 25 countries on 6 continents.