Bering Yachts has signed a collaboration agreement with Turkish shipbuilder RMK to build expedition superyachts above 500 gross tonnes. Bering announced the deal on 2 October. Design direction, the brand and the clients stay with Bering. RMK Yachts, the yacht brand of RMK Marine, brings the engineering and the yard for large custom projects of 500 to 3,000 GT, along with its experience in ice-class and polar-class ships.
What Bering and RMK have agreed
The release does not give a value, a term or a number of yachts, and no first order has been announced. Alexei Mikhailov, Bering's founder and chief executive, says the yard is already talking to buyers.
Alexei Mikhailov, Founder and CEO, Bering Yachts:“We primarily focus on the construction of superyachts above 40 metres and 500 GT at RMK Yachts' facilities, including vessels with Polar Class capability, and are already engaged in discussions with prospective clients for projects within this segment.
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Which RMK site will build them is left open. RMK is moving its yacht production out of Tuzla in Istanbul to a new 70,000-square-metre yard in Yalova, on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara, due to run at full capacity in 2027. Tuzla keeps the commercial and military orders.
Why 500 GT is the line for Bering
Gross tonnage measures a yacht's enclosed volume. Bering's largest yachts all stop at 499 GT. The Bering 145 Heeus, 44.2 metres and delivered in 2022, is the biggest Bering on the water. The flagship Bering 165, a 50-metre project, is also 499 GT. Its first hull was laid down in Antalya on 31 March 2026 for delivery in 2029, and a second, sold to a client represented by Singapore's Absolute Yacht Services, followed on 5 May.
From 500 GT a yacht used for charter comes under stricter rules on construction, equipment and crew, set by the SOLAS convention and the codes for large yachts. That is the size the RMK deal is aimed at, and Bering has nothing built or in build there yet. BOATPro counts six yachts currently under construction at Bering.
Who RMK is and what it is building
RMK Marine was founded in 1974 on the Golden Horn in Istanbul and moved to Tuzla ten years later. Since 1997 it has belonged to Koç Holding, Turkey's largest industrial group. It builds tugs, coast guard boats and other commercial and military vessels as well as yachts. Its delivered yachts include the 52-metre sailing yacht Nazenin V (2009), the 45-metre Karia (2011) and the 37-metre Seven Seas (2023).
BOATPro counts three yachts on order at RMK. Aries, a 49.9-metre, 499 GT yacht in steel and aluminium designed by Hot Lab, has been in build since late 2020, and RMK is preparing to deliver her. Solas Mór is 65 metres and 1,549 GT, in build to polar class PC6 (category B under the IMO Polar Code), with hybrid propulsion and a helipad. Hansa News, citing RMK, called her the first polar-class expedition yacht to be built in Turkey. Orca, 58 metres and about 1,000 GT, designed by Lagaria Yacht Design, is in build too.
| Yacht | Builder | Length | Gross tonnage | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bering 145 Heeus | Bering | 44.2 m | 499 | Delivered 2022 |
| Bering 165 | Bering | 50 m | 499 | Two hulls in build, first due 2029 |
| Aries | RMK | 49.9 m | 499 | In build, delivery expected 2026 |
| Orca | RMK | 58 m | about 1,000 | In build |
| Solas Mór | RMK | 65 m | 1,549 | In build, polar class PC6 |
So RMK already has two yachts in its sheds that fall inside the 500 to 3,000 GT range of the new agreement. SuperYacht Times quoted Cüneyt Okcu, director of RMK Yachts, on the partnership.
Cüneyt Okcu, Director, RMK Yachts, quoted by SuperYacht Times:“What I find most interesting about this collaboration is the opportunity to combine Bering's approach to expedition yachts with RMK Yachts' engineering depth, quality standards and large-project capabilities. Together, we aim to develop distinctive and technically demanding projects, particularly in the Polar Class expedition yacht segment.
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What Bering promised in August
When Bering announced on 17 August that Dmitry Vasiliev had bought into the yard, it said he would oversee strategic collaborations in its Superyacht Division, with particular emphasis on projects of 50 metres and above. The first major collaboration in that segment, it said, would be announced in the near future. Forty-six days later Bering named RMK.
The October release does not mention Vasiliev or describe RMK as that collaboration, and Mikhailov now talks about yachts from 40 metres, where the August text said 50. Going by the dates, RMK looks like the partner promised in August.
Photo: Bering Yachts. Source: Bering Yachts, BOAT International, SuperYacht Times, RMK Yachts, YachtBuyer, Hansa News.
