ART Shipyard’s reputation as a commercial shipbuilder is unsurpassed. Now the Turkish yard has collaborated with leading Italian designers to enter the luxury market with BEE Yacht, an elegant explorer that can unlock a world of incredible.
Since its establishment in 1975 in Tuzla Bay, Istanbul — the epicentre of Turkish shipbuilding — ART Shipyard has built a storied legacy in commercial ship construction from the keel up. This extensive expertise has facilitated its successful transition into the refit sector, enabling it to emerge as the largest commercial refit yard in Europe and the eighth largest globally.
And now, ART Shipyard has entered the luxury market with Bee Yacht, a 35m explorer launched in
August. Designed by celebrated naval architect and marine engineer Sergio Cutolo of Hydro Tec, with timeless interiors by Michele Dragoni of Dragoni Design Lab, Bee Yacht demonstrates the scale of ART Shipyard’s ambition.
“We knew we wanted to do something different, something unique, and explore a new line of business, so we wanted to build with good names,” says Hüseyin Yardimci, Partner and board member at ART Shipyard.
Whilst expert commercial shipbuilders, ART knew to trust Cutolo and Dragoni with the design of a luxury explorer yacht. “We believed in them and left the ball in their court with the design,” says Yardimci. “In normal circumstances we would add our own blend, but we trusted them to design an elegant yacht that is useable for every aspect. It was a pleasure to work with these people.”
At 35 metres, Bee Yacht is compact enough to be able to enter most marinas and ports, whilst her full displacement round bilge hull and best-in-class engineering enables an impressive range of 4,000 nm at a cruising speed of 10 kn. Compliant with MCA and RINA Commercial Class standards, Bee Yacht has great charter potential.
“Thirty-five metres is a handy size for exploring,” says Yardimci. “We wanted to create a yacht with minimum crew – ideally five, including the Master. If the Owner has the right qualifications, they can manage and control this yacht themselves.”
With a durable steel hull, aluminium superstructure, stainless steel anchor chain pockets, and zero-speed stabilisers, Bee Yacht is engineered for comfortable long-range cruising. “This is not a day yacht; you can practically live in it,” says Yardimci.
Indeed, Bee Yacht offers plenty of space for up to 10 guests. The main salon features ample seating, a spacious dining area, and sliding doors leading to an aft deck with a Jacuzzi and large swim platform. The Owner’s stateroom, with floor-to-ceiling windows, spans the full 7.7m beam, while four guest staterooms on the lower deck incorporate dove grey leather headboards and neutral leather accents, each with an en suite bathroom.
The upper deck and sun room offer plenty of entertaining space with a large dining table, lounge area, and fully equipped bar. On a practical level, Bee Yacht also offers plenty of refrigeration and freezer capacity, water storage, and space for toys for long periods at sea. A new legacy for the ART Shipyard begins.
