What Is GÜRDESAN? Turkish Marine Deck Equipment Manufacturer
Quick answer: GÜRDESAN Gemi Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. is a Turkish marine equipment manufacturer founded in 1982 and headquartered in Dilovası, Kocaeli. The company designs, builds and overhauls deck machinery, deck cranes, deck fittings, life-saving systems, hatch covers, and steering and propulsion systems for commercial ships, offshore platforms and naval programmes. GÜRDESAN also holds a notable place in the Turkish defence industry as the company whose shipyard produced the torpedo tube section (Section 50) of the Reis-class submarines for the first time in Turkey.
What is GÜRDESAN and what does it do?
GÜRDESAN is an industrial company that produces deck equipment and machinery for merchant ships, offshore platforms and military vessels. According to its official website, products are manufactured to ISO, DIN, BS and JIS standards depending on customer requirements, and pass through the approval procedures of classification societies including ABS, DNV, GL, BV, RINA, Türk Loydu and LR. The company states that its production complies with SOLAS and IMO rules as well as flag-state requirements.
The product range is organised under eight main headings: deck machinery, deck cranes, deck fittings, life-saving systems, hatch covers and lifting systems, steering and propulsion systems, repair and maintenance, and special fabrication.
Foundation and facilities
The company was founded in 1982 with entirely Turkish capital. Today it operates a production site in Gebze with 42,000 square metres of covered and 8,000 square metres of open area; the group’s shipbuilding arm, Gürdesan Shipyard, works in the shipyard zone of Altınova, Yalova. The group states that its facilities across different locations exceed 100,000 square metres in total. Mustafa Gürsoy, the company’s founder and long-serving chairman of the board, passed away in April 2021; the ownership structure is examined in detail in the Who owns GÜRDESAN? file.
Role in naval shipbuilding programmes
GÜRDESAN’s best-known publicly reported defence work is its production for the New Type Submarine Project (Reis class). Under STM’s engineering and coordination, Section 50 — the torpedo tube section housing the submarines’ main weapon systems — was manufactured in Turkey for the first time at the Gürdesan Shipyard in Yalova and delivered to the Gölcük Naval Shipyard Command in September 2021. In 2016 the company had also undertaken the fabrication of the submarines’ internal blocks under the same programme. In addition, the Large Cavitation Tunnel (KATMANSİS) at Istanbul Technical University was built by GÜRDESAN. Details are covered in the submarine projects file.
The company is listed in the industry catalogue of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and is a member of the SAHA Istanbul cluster. There is, however, no officially published list of direct equipment supplies to programmes such as MİLGEM or TCG Anadolu.
Product groups at a glance
| Product group | Main products | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Deck machinery | Anchor windlasses, mooring winches, towing winch | Anchoring and mooring operations |
| Deck cranes | Cargo, service-provision, hose, heavy-lift cranes | Cargo handling, replenishment |
| Life-saving systems | Lifeboat and rescue boat davits | SOLAS requirements, evacuation |
| Hatch covers | Pontoon, folding, rolling type covers | Dry cargo and bulk carriers |
| Steering and propulsion | Propeller-shaft systems, rudder, nozzle | Propulsion and manoeuvring |
| Special fabrication | Section 50, cavitation tunnel, special steel structures | Defence and research infrastructure |
Position within the Turkish marine supply industry
Turkey’s shipbuilding industry is organised around the shipyards of Tuzla, Yalova-Altınova and the Black Sea coast, and part of these yards’ equipment demand is met by domestic suppliers. GÜRDESAN is one of the manufacturers in this supply base focused on deck outfitting, and with more than four decades of activity it ranks among the older firms in the field. The fact that the company handles both new production and repair-maintenance gives shipyards and shipowners a single point of supply. The company’s official “about us” page notes that repair and maintenance jobs completed since foundation are counted in the thousands; it also states, based on its own service experience, that roughly three quarters of equipment failures can be resolved by the crew without calling a service team. Such statements are company declarations rather than independently audited data, but they show that the business model runs on production and maintenance in parallel. On the defence side, GÜRDESAN is positioned not as a prime contractor but as a subcontractor and infrastructure builder: the submarine section fabrication was carried out under STM coordination, and the cavitation tunnel was built within the ITU and SSB framework. This position places the company at one of the intersection points between the shipyard ecosystem and the defence supply chain.
Frequently asked questions
Where is GÜRDESAN located?
The head office and production plant are in the Dilovası Organised Industrial Zone in Kocaeli; there is a production area in Gebze and a group shipyard in Altınova, Yalova.
When was GÜRDESAN founded?
The company was founded in 1982. Official sources state that it has been producing for the Turkish shipbuilding industry since its foundation.
Has GÜRDESAN worked on military projects?
Yes. The Section 50 torpedo tube section and the internal blocks of the Reis-class submarines were produced at Gürdesan facilities, and the company also built the ITU Large Cavitation Tunnel.
Is GÜRDESAN a state-owned company?
No. GÜRDESAN is a privately held family company, founded in 1982 with entirely Turkish capital.
To which standards does GÜRDESAN manufacture?
According to the official website, production follows ISO, DIN, BS and JIS standards, and the ISO 9001 quality management system has been applied since 2004.
Sources and verification note
The information in this article was compiled from the sources below; all sources were accessed on the same date. Figures that have not been officially disclosed, such as revenue and headcount, were not included. Accessed: August 13, 2026.
- https://www.gurdesan.com.tr/ (corporate site, product categories)
- https://www.gurdesan.com.tr/Sayfa/Hakkimizda
- https://www.gurdesanyard.com/hakkimizda
- https://www.sahaistanbul.org.tr/firma/gurdesan-gemi-mak-san-tic-a-s
- https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/bilim-teknoloji/denizaltilarin-torpido-kovan-bolumu-ilk-kez-turkiye-de-uretildi/2364475
- https://www.denizhaber.net/gurdesan-gemi-makina-a-s-yonetim-kurulu-baskani-mustafa-gursoy-vefat-etti-haber-101313.htm
- https://www.marinedealnews.com/katmansis-kullanima-acildi/
