During the 2000s, the Turkish shipbuilding industry witnessed substantial growth, driven by its exports and dynamic financing by local banks and economic stability. Turkish shipyards focused on building relatively small oil and chemical tankers during this period.In 2008, the Global Financial Crisis led Turkish shipbuilding groups to look for new areas of specialisation. Thus, Turkish shipbuilding groups began to reorient their main activities into ship repair, ship scrapping, and the building of niche ships such as alternative fueled-vessels. With the significant decline in new construction demands worldwide, they focused on tailor-made ships, notably for European buyers. Turkish smaller yards tend now to be multipurpose, offering conversion, repair and maintenance services as well as the building of new ships.