Bilgin 156

• 47.5 m LOA (156 ft), 8.75 m beam, 494 GT
• Two hulls: Starburst III delivered 2017, Lilium launched May 2019
• Lilium was the last yacht launched at the historic Kucukcekmece facility
• Twin MTU 12V 2000 series engines, 16 knots top, 12 knots cruise
• Range over 5,000 nm at 12 knots at half load, quoted for Lilium
• 10 guests in 5 staterooms with main deck master, crew of 9
• Exterior and naval architecture by Unique Yacht Design
• Interiors by H2 Yacht Design on hull one, Bilgin's in-house team on Lilium

The proof before the family

Before the 163 and the 80 metre trilogy there was the 156, a 47.5 metre displacement yacht on an 8.75 metre beam, built in steel and aluminium and certified at 494 GT. Unique Yacht Design drew the exterior and the naval architecture, the collaboration that has since carried every modern Bilgin series, and the yard built two hulls for two very different clients.

The recipe was already the modern one. Keep the tonnage under 500, spend it on three decks of genuine volume, and give the boat the fuel to cross oceans. The 156 demonstrated that an Istanbul yard could deliver that package to international buyers twice over, and the current 50 metre family is its direct descendant. It is also the size at which the yard's craft heritage, the joinery and metalwork done in-house, shows most directly, because a 47 metre interior is still built largely by hand.

Starburst III opens the line

The first hull was launched in August 2017 and delivered the same year as Starburst III. Her interior came from H2 Yacht Design, the London studio that would go on to style the yard's 80 metre flagships, in a scheme trade press described as bold and assertive, with dark timbers and confident contrast throughout the guest areas.

The specification set the series template. Ten guests in five staterooms, nine crew, and twin MTU 12V 2000 series engines for 16 knots flat out with a 12 knot cruise. She remains visible on the international charter and brokerage market today, which keeps her condition and running history open to any buyer doing homework on the yard.

Two 47 metre sisters proved the sub-500 GT formula the whole modern range now runs on.

Lilium and a farewell to Kucukcekmece

Hull two went into the water on 15 May 2019 carrying more than her own weight of significance. She was the last yacht launched at Kucukcekmece, the Istanbul facility where the family had built for decades, before the operation consolidated at West Istanbul Marina and Yalova. That September she premiered at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Inside, her owners worked directly with Bilgin's in-house design team on a brighter scheme than her sister, white and gold with brass accents, personalised headboards and marble work in every stateroom, a main deck master and four guest staterooms below. A glass bottomed hot tub on the upper deck pours daylight into the interior, and the galley was planned around a central island with a pantry linking it to the dining room.

Sold at the show, twice renamed, still working

Lilium sold on the back of her Monaco debut through a collaboration with brokerage house IYC, with the sale closing on 20 November 2019. Her new owner renamed her Snow 5 and based her in Miami, and she has since changed hands again and now cruises as Moonraker.

That history is worth reading as data. Two hulls built, both sold, the second essentially off the show dock, and both still trading and cruising years later under active ownership. For a yard whose international reputation was still forming in the late 2010s, the 156 was the series that turned deliveries into references. Name changes at this level usually track ownership changes, and each sale re-tested the boat's value in the open market.

What the 156 offers an owner now

The 156 is no longer in production, so the route in is brokerage, and that is precisely its appeal. The yard quotes Lilium's range above 5,000 nautical miles at 12 knots at half load, the draft is a shallow 2.5 metres that opens up thin water anchorages, and the sub-500 GT format keeps the running cost equation the same one that makes the current 163 and 170 so sought after.

A well kept 156 puts Bilgin build quality, long range and a proven layout within reach without a build slot or a multi year wait, from a builder that is still family owned and keeps refit and after sales capacity running in Istanbul and Antalya. An owner stepping into the brand this way gets the same design DNA as the current family, at 47 metres and at brokerage money.

Para quién es: An owner entering the brand through brokerage who wants Bilgin's long range, sub-500 GT formula at 47 metres, with the ownership history of both hulls on public record.