In 2026 it will be half a century since Sanmar Shipyards was set up by Orhan Gürün and his brother-in-law, the late Gökçen Seven.

The Istanbul shipyard’s first tug, delivered in 1990, was a single-screw vessel with a bollard pull of just 22 tonnes.

Since then, Sanmar has become a major player in the sector across six continents, thanks in part to its close relationship with Canadian naval architects at Robert Allan, who have designed every single tug built by the shipyard.