Bosphorus Naval News

TCG Heybeliada Launched

2011-09-27T17:58:00.000+03:00

A Necessary Move

2011-04-01T10:42:00.001+03:00

As you might have noticed the Bosphorus Naval News has changed its application provider. We are now using WordPress services.

The tug of war between Google (Blogger) and the Unnamed Digital TV company and the blocking of many IP addresses of Google was the primary reason for this change. I was able to reach my blog.

While there appears no problems to opening the URL turkishnavy.blogspot.com, it is not possible to access the URL turkishnavy.net, which I intend to keep and use.

Therefore I was forced to change from Blogger to WordPress. You can find the live blog

http://turkishnavy.net/

Romanian Border Guard Vessel Passed Through Bosphorus

2011-03-25T13:27:00.000+02:00

This Morning the Romanian border Guard vessel MAI-1105 Stefan Cel Mare passed through Bosphorus.

She is heading to Create, Greece.

The Damen Offshore Patrol Vessel 950 class vessel was delivered to Romania in September 2010. She was funded by the European Union in order to strengthen the Border Police force of Romania.

In a similar procurement project the Turkish Istanbul shipyard delivered 5 river partrol boats of SNR-17 class, constructed for Romanian Border Police.

I must confess that I am impressed by the very modern design of Stefan Cel Mare. She was constructed and the Damen shipyard in Romania. Click here for detailed information.

Ukraine Sends A Warship To Libya While Romania And Bulgaria Prepares One

2011-03-25T01:06:00.001+02:00

U-402 Konstantin Olshansky. NATO photo.

Exactly at midnight of 23th March 2011, the Ukrainian Ropucha 1 class landing ship U-402 Konstantin Olshansky Sevastopol to conduct Non-Combatant Evacuation of Ukranian citizens trapped in Libya.

She has passed through Bosphorus on 24 March 2011 early in the morning and left Turkish territorial waters late at night.

According to Ukrainian Goverment Portal the ship can accommodated 500 to 600 evacuees on board.

Large landing ship Konstantin Olshansky has all the necessary stores, including fuel and lubricants, and foodstuffs. To ensure the safety and security of citizens of Ukraine except the crew aboard the ship there is the unit of Marines with standard weapon, doctors from the Military Medical Clinical Centre of Crimean region and psychologists, interpreters with knowledge of Arabic.

It was not stated on the portal how long the NEO will last.

Ukraine is not the only Black Sea country that sends a warship to Libya. Both Bulgaria and Romania have announced that they each will send a frigate to participate NATO's Operation Unified Protector.

Romania decided to send the frigate F-221 Regele Ferdinand. The Type 22 class frigate was purchased from UK in 2004. The Romanian government decided to increase the defence budget by 4,5 million Euros from reserve funds in order to pay the participation of the frigate.

Bulgaria, too will send a frigate to Libya. Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov has issued orders to prepare the F-41 Drazki of the Bulgarian Navy for participation in the NATO naval operation of Libya's coast.

Both Regele Ferdinand and Drazki are currently in Black Sea and did not passed though Bosphorus yet.

Turkish Contribution To NATO Operations Off Libya Takes Shape

2011-03-24T11:21:00.004+02:00

F-243 TCG Yıldırım. Here in Çanakkale on 18 March 2011, soon
off the coast of Libya.

Turkish contribution to NATO enforced maritime embargo to Libya takes shape.

Yesterday, on 23 March it was announced that Turkey would send 4 frigates, one replenishment tanker and one submarine to the NATO task force off the coast of Libya. According to news reports this intention was officially declared to NATO in writing.

Today Turkish Parliament will discus about sending warships to Libya and will vote on the subject. I expect that the motion will be accepted by majority.

The following ships are selected for the NATO Task Force:

Pennant	Ship	Type	Location/Status
A-580	TCG Akar	Tanker	In Transit to Libya
F-243	TCG Yıldırım	Frigate	In Transit to Libya
F-...	TCG ...x	Frigate	In Transit to Libya
F-491	TCG Giresun	Frigate	Off Libya
F-492	TCG Gemlik	Frigate	Off Libya
S-350	TCG Yıldıray	submarine	Not Avaliable
Bosphorus Naval News

It turns out that creating a Turkish Naval Task Force and sending it on a cruise in Mediterranean during last summer, was a very good exercise. I am sure the lessons learned from that cruise will be used for the planing of the current operations.

Hat Tipp: A very good friend of mine: Arda Mevlutoğlu.

SACEUR, ADM Stavridis in Ankara

2011-03-24T10:02:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, on 23 March 2011, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe Admiral Stavridis arrived in Ankara for a two day visit.

I do not know when this visit was planned but the timing could not have been better, after yesterdays declaration that Turkey will take part in NATO's arms embargo against Libya.

According to Anadolu Ajansı news agency, Admiral Stavridis had a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mr. Davutoğlu yesterday. Among the discussed topic are NATO's activities in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the latest developments in Libya.

Today, Admiral Stavridis will meet with General Koşaner, Chief of Turkish General Staff.

Turkish Navy To Help NATO Enforce Libya Embargo

2011-03-23T16:24:00.000+02:00

According to Reuters, Turkey agreed to provide 4 frigates, one submarine and one support ship to NATO, so that NATO can enforce the arms embargo imposed on Libya.

The alliance had offers of 16 ships to implement a decision to launch the mission taken by NATO this week, NATO military officer Brigadier Pierre St Amand told a news briefing

He said the ships included a command-and-control ship from Italy; 10 frigates -- including four from Turkey and one each from Britain, Spain, Greece, Italy, Canada and the United States; submarines from Spain, Italy and Turkey; and auxiliary ships from Italy and Turkey.

St Amand said the NATO mission was authorized to use armed force to enforce the embargo.While agreeing to enforce the arms embargo, NATO nations have yet to agree to take part in a no-fly zone over and whether the alliance should have a leading role in the international mission.

Turkey, a Muslim state and a NATO member, says the air campaign over Libya led by France, the United States and Britain has already gone beyond the scope of last week's U.N. Security Council resolution. There was no immediate word of whether Ankara would accept a compromise at NATO on 23 March 2011, Wednesday.

This just a very fresh news. I will be on the outlook for more information.

Turkish Navy Naval Parade In Dardanelles

2011-03-22T13:49:00.001+02:00

On Friday, 18 March 2011, to commemorate the 96th anniversary of the victory against the Allied Fleet in 18 March 1915, Turkish Navy organized a naval parade in Dardanelles.

It meant a 25 hours round trip to Çanakkale for me, to watch the parade, take photos of the participating ships and return home.

But it was worth it and it was fun.

Following ships took part in the parade:

F-245 TCG Oruçreis

F-244 TCG Barbaros

F-240 TCG Yavuz

F-495 TCG Gediz with MK-41 VLS

P-338 TCG Atak

P-331 TCG Kalkan

P-330 TCG Kılıç

SG-312 TCSG-312 with STAMP

SG-308 TCSG-308 with STAMP

SG-93 TCSG-93

SG-94 TCSG-94

Additionally, I was able to take photos of the following ships and vessels:

209 Type 1200 class submarine

209 Type 1100 class submarine

F-243 TCG Yıldırım

SG-4 TCSG-4

SG-15 TCSG-15

SG-16 TCSG-16

SG-84 TCSG-84

Y-161 TCG Öncü

For the photos of a similar naval pared from last year, click HERE.

The Legendary Mine Layer Nusret, In Active Duty Again!

2011-03-20T02:26:00.001+02:00

N-16 TCG Nusret

There are a few ships, that directly influenced the history. The small minelayer Nusret is one of them. Perhaps the smallest of them.

She was a German built mine layer in service of Ottoman Navy when she laid 20 new mines to a bay which was used previously cleared by Allied mine sweepers. This bay was used to maneuver Allied battleships when they were bombarding the forts along Dardanelles at the beginning of March 1915.

These latest mines of Nusret were laid parallel to the shore as an exception.

On 18 March 1915 when the Allied Armada forced her way up the Dardanelles, everything seem to be on their side. until at around 14:00 a small cloud of yellowish smoke, which turned black afterwards, came out of the starboard quarter of the Bouvet. This old French battleship had struck a mine. One of the mines laid ten day ago by Nusret. Bouvet sank in a very short time.

A few hours later first HMS Inflexible and shortly later HMS Irresistible struck to same mines from Nusret.

Of the 16 capital ships that sailed in the Dardanelles that morning HMS Ocean, HMS Irresistible and Bouvet never returned. HMS Inflexible and Gaulios had to be beached at the near by small island in order to be rescued. Suffren heavily damaged by Turkish guns had to be docked at Malta for intensive repairs..

Winston Churchill defined those mines as the reason for the prolonging of the war and the enormous casualties, in the interview he made with "Revue de Paris," in 1930.

The original Nusret was sold to a private company after her decommissioning from Turkish Navy in 1962. An unprecedented example of bureaucratic myopia and stupidity. She was used till late 80'ies when she sunk in Mersin Harbor. She was salvaged and bought by the Municipality of Tarsus and restored. But as she was not seaworthy anymore, she was placed on land.

Turkish Navy constructed a copy of the Nusret in Gölcük Naval Shipyard and launched her in September 2010. She was commissioned into the Turkish Navy on 11 February 2011 with the pennant number N-16.

N-16 TCG Nusret. A sailing legend.

Earlier this month she cruised under her own power from Gölcük to Çanakkale where she will serve as a floating museum. She took part in the remembrance and celebration of the victory against the Allied Fleet in 18 March 1915.

I wish her calm seas and friendly winds.

First Turkish Perry With Mk-41 VLS On

2011-03-19T23:20:00.001+02:00

F-495 TCG Gediz.
The first Gabya class frigate to receive Mk41 VLS

This is most probably the first photo of the Turkish frigate F-495 TCG Gediz with the newly installed 8 cell Mk-41 VLS system.

In 2009 it was announced that four of the eight Gabya (Perry) class frigates in Turkish inventory would receive a 8 cell Mk-41 VLS for ESSM and a new 3D radar for improved observation and fire control capabilities. This upgrade is similar to the modernization project conducted by Royal Australian Navy known as Project SEA 1390 or FFG UP.

Thales Smart S Mk-2 was selected as the new 3D radar, but it was not installed on the frigate yet.

All Gabya class frigates with the exception of F-496 TCG Gökova and F-497 TCG Göksu, have received the GENESIS mid-life upgrade.

The Blocking Of The Blogger

2011-03-19T22:40:00.001+02:00

As you might know since the beginning of March Turkish bloggers are having a very difficult time to reaching their beloved blogger blogs.

This is so because as a court in Diyarbakır ruled that access to blogger and to all the blogs it hosts should be blocked. The ruling of the court is based on a claim made by a satellite television provider (which I will not name because I do not want to make their advertisement) that some blogs on blogger are showing the football matches of the Turkish League online and for free. Where as this unnamed company paid the unreasonable high amount of 321 million TL, to buy the exclusive rights to broadcast Turkish football for the next four years.

Therefore they asked the court in Diyarbakir a town in the south east of Turkey, where as the HQ of this company is in the middle of Istanbul to block the blogger.

A web site (http://privacy.cyber-rights.org.tr/) announced that Google has taken the necessary steps for removing the blogs that violated the copyright from blogger so that the court decision can be revoked.

But so far I as a blogger I do not see any progress as I cannot access my own blog without using any proxies such as vtunnel.

This I why I have been able to update my blog regularly in the recent days.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 4)

2011-03-17T00:26:00.000+02:00

This is sort of breaking news. The civilian ferry M/V Ankara left Istanbul in the evening of 16. March 2011.

Her possible port of call is Sirte, Libya.

Her sister M/V Samsun is in Tripoli since 15 March 2011. She is evacuating Egyptians who flee from Libya.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 1)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 2)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 3)

2011-03-15T23:20:00.002+02:00

M/V Samsun and TCG Gelibolu in Tripolis.
Official Turkish Navy Photo.

According to Turkish General Staff website, the ferry M/V Samsun arrived in Tripolis escorted by the frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu.

M/V Samsun will pick up Egyptian evacuees who wish to return to their country. This will be the second trip of the ship.

In the first trip M/V Samsun had 1075 evacuees on board while TCG Gelibolu had 81 on board.

There is nothing in the media yet but it seems the crisis on board of M/V Samsun is over.

M/V Fehim Bey seen from TCG Gaziantep.
Official Turkish Navy Photo.

In the meantime cargo vessels M/V Fehim Bey and M/V Purki arrived in Benghazi loaded with humanitarian aid. The ships departed from Mersin, Turkey for a joint aid action conducted by Turkey and UAE. The ships were escorted by the frigate F-490 TCG Gaziantep on their voyage.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 1)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 2)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 3)

Lesson To Be Learned From Libya Evacuation (Part 2)

2011-03-15T18:48:00.000+02:00

In my personal the the most important lesson that Turkey should learn from the Libyan NEO is that it is the high time for Turkey to invest in new, large, fast and seaworthy passenger ships.

Compared to the evacuation by air the evacuation by sea was very limited. Only 8351 person, 36% of the evacuees, were transported by sea. This is direct result of Turkey's lack of suitable passenger ships. The 5 ferries Turkey have sent to Libya were all the available and suitable ships that a country with a coast line of 7200 km could muster. There are no other passenger ships with a longer range, larger capacity or better accommodations under Turkish flag.

Since the decommissioning Turkish flagged pure passenger ships in 1980'ies, long range cruise shipping is dominated by foreign companies such as Royal Caribben Cruise, Costa or MCS. And most of the local passenger shipping is limited to short hauled trips across the Marmara Sea. Therefore neither the government or the private companies invested in new passenger ships in the last decade.

The three ferries M/V Samsun, M/V Ankara and TCG Iskenderun are similar ships built to a Polish Baltic ferry design. The first two were constructed in Poland and the last one build with Polish help in Turkey. They are slow. Their average speed during the trips was around 11 knots. M/V Ankara needed 77 hours for its return trip from Benghazi to Istanbul. M/V Samsun is 28, M/V Ankara is 26 and TCG Iskenderun is 24 years old. Without any doubt they are reaching the end of their useful service lives. What would we do if the Libya crisis happened not today but in 5 or 6 years time. Where we forced to evacuate by using the fast ferries only?

The Austral build M/V Osman Gazi and M/V Orhan Gazi are fast and modern compared to the Polish ferries. But these ships are configured for 2 to 3 hours trips from one side of the Marmara Sea to the other. They lack the hotel facilities the Polish ferries have and they are prone to bad weather more than the other ships. These ferries had to wait in Marmaris for 3 days until the gale in the Mediterranean wind down before they could start their second journeys.

It is not possible to predict when or where the next Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation will be executed. But if the three previous operations can create an example it is safe to say that it will be in the Mediterranean. Therefore it is safe to assume that the next NEO will involve evacuation by the sea.

Now it is right time to investing in new passenger ships and find an economical solutions or business ideas to operate and maintain them. Or otherwise for the next civilian evacuation we might to beg for ships.

Lesson To Be Learned From Libya Evacuation (Part 1)

Lesson To Be Learned From Libya Evacuation (Part 1)

2011-03-14T17:31:00.001+02:00

The terrible events grabbed the attention of the world. But the chaos and the civil war is continuing in Libya. I personally feel that now is a good time to think about the Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation from Libya while it is still fresh in our memories and render the necessary lesson.

The NEO from Libya was the third of such operation Turkey conducted in the recent years.

The first noticeable NEO was evacuation from Albania in March 1997. The Knox class frigate F-251 TCG Adatepe was send to Albania to pick up 253 evacuees.

The second NEO was the evacuation from Lebanon in July 2006. This time the frigates F-493 TCG Gelibolu, F-504 TCG Bartın and the naval ferry A-1600 TCG Iskenderun were send to Beirut to pick up 700 Turkish citizens.

As you can see the previous operations were very small in scale compared to the latest NEO from Libya. Between 19 February and 4 March 2011, Turkey evacuated 23.127 persons from Libya.

I am very happy to see that the whole operation run very smoothly and there were no serious incidents that might endanger the lives of the evacuees. Neither the Gaddafi government or the rebel forces denied any landing of Turkish planes or docking of Turkish ships. And this is thanks to the relentless efforts of the Turkish diplomatic personal in Libya.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs grab the ball at the beginning of the incidents and never dropped it till the end. An emergency response center with 120 staff was immediately set up in HQ at MoFa and this ERC was the main command and control point during the whole evacuation operation.The Mofa personnel in Libya were also very active and in command of the things. This is one lesson the be learned. A strong presence in the filed and a powerful and acting crisis center at the HQ to organize everything.

In evacuation by air, Turkey was successful. Having a strong civil aviation sector is an important force multiplier for a nation. The national flag carrier, THY is expanding its fleet very aggressively in the recent years. So are the other domestic carriers. The large fleets of Turkish air lines helped them to divert enough planes for additional chartered flights from Libya. The civil planes carried 43 flights where as the cargo planes of Turkish Air Force executed 27 flights. 14.776 person, % 64 of the evacuees were transported by air.

Lesson To Be Learned From Libya Evacuation (Part 2)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 2)

2011-03-11T17:55:00.002+02:00

Vice Adm. Mohab Mameesh on board TCG Gelibolu.
Official Turkish Navy Photo.

On 7th March the civilian ferry M/V Samsun and frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu arrived at Alexandira Egypt.

There were 1075 Egyptians on board of M/V Samsun and 81 on board of TCG Gelibolu.

Upon thier arrival the Commander of Egyptian Naval Forces, vice Admiral Mohab Mameesh visited TCG Gelibolu.

It is not clear however is the ships are going back to Libya for a second round.

M/V Samsun is still in Alexandria and yesterday one Turkish maritime news portal reported that 13 of the crew including the second mate and the chef submitted their resignations, citing that they did not want to work under adverse health (hygienic ?) conditions.

For more photos from Turkish Navy click here.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 1)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 2)

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 3)

The Producer Of Super Vita Boats Asks For Bankruptcy Protection

2011-03-11T17:04:00.001+02:00

HS Roussen. Photo from Wikipedia by K. Krallis

The Greek shipyard Elefsishas asked for conciliation procedure as it is facing the doomingliquidity problems .

The owner of the shipyardNeorion Holdings, announced that they were asking protection fromdebtors under the Article 99 of Law 3588/2007 as they wererestructuring the dept of the shipyard.

The shipyard one of thebiggest private shipyards in Greece was producing Super Vıta classcorvettes fro the Greek Navy with BAE naval Systems.

At the beginning ofthis month, BAE Systems Surface Ships announced that it has pulled itself from the contract with theElefsis. BAE Systems cited the lack of payments for the project byGreek government as the reason for its departure.

The construction ofSuper Vıta corvettes is or was the biggest warship constructionproject in Greece besides the construction of 6 Type 214 AIPsubmarines. The submarine procurement program also faced enormousproblems which have been discussed lengthy over the last months.

The Super Vita / Roussenprorect started in 2000 when BAE Systems signed a contract withElefsis Shipyard, for the production of 3 Super Vita corvettes, inGreece. BAE Systems was to supply the design, and combat systemintegration service. Furthermore the constructions facilities atElefsis were to be modernized. The contract also incorporatedtechnology transfer.

The first boats covered inthe initial contract are already delivered to Greek navy. In 2003options for 2 additional ships and in 2008 again for further twoships were executed by Greek Navy. However only the first ship of theoptions is delivered to the Greek Navy. The remaining three are indifferent stages of production.

Now with BAE systemswithdrawn from the contact and the Elefisis is asking for protectionfrom bankruptcy, it the fate of the remaining three ships is verydubious.

The 62 meters long vesselshave a displacement of 671 tonnes and carry 8 MM40 Excocet anti shipmissiles, 21 RAM anti air missiles. The gun armament consists of one76mm main gun and 2 30mm secondary guns. The boats are quite wellarmed for their dimensions.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 1)

2011-03-06T22:54:00.002+02:00

Turkey finished evacuating its citizens from Libya but Turkish ships are still in the region, helping the evacuation of other nations.

The civilian ferry M/V Samsun and frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu left Tripoli on 4. March 2010. Both ships are heading to Alexandira Egypt.

There are 1075 Egyptians on board of M/V Samsun and 81 more are on board of TCG Gelibolu. The ships are expected to arrive in Alexandria.

The photo on the left is an official photo from Turkish Navy. If you look close enough you can see a South Korean warship docked just to the right of TCG Gelibolu on the background.

Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 1)
Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 2)
Turkey Continues Evacuations From Libya (Part 3)

TCG Giresun Helps M/T Guanabara

2011-03-06T22:24:00.001+02:00

Today, F-491 TCG Giresun assisted to Japanese owned and Bahamian flagged tanker Guanabara.

The tanker was attacked by Somali pirates 330 miles south east of Duqm, Oman. The pirates were able to to board the ship but the crew hide in side a safe room.

Turkish contribution to Standing NATO Maritime Task Group 2 (CTF-508), TCG Giresun was diverted to help the tanker.

The frigate arrived at the vicinity of the tanker in the morning of 6. March 2011. The frigate established contact to the crew of the tanker and the on obard helicoper was send to reconnaissance and surveillance. Apeerantly the pirates gave up their efforts to hi jack the ship and with the arrival of TCG Giresun they decided to surrender.

Later the US destroyer DDG-84 USS Bulkeley arrived at the scene and the boarding team of the US warship, boarded the tanker. The boarding was unopposed by the pirates. The pirates are under custody on board of the USS Bulkeley.

Since then, TCG Giresun returned to her orginally assigned area of duty.

For more photos and for the original press release of the Turkish General Staff click here.

Greed Is A Sin. Blocking Blogger, Not Yet.

2011-03-03T00:54:00.003+02:00

Today almost thousands blogger users in Turkey had a very nasty shock. Their beloved blogs were out of their reach as a court in Diyarbakır ruled that access to blogger and to all the blogs it hosts should be blocked.

The reason for this court rule is just plain greed.

The decision of the court is based on a claim made by a satellite television provider which I will not name because I do not want to make their advertisement. This company paid unreasonable high amount of 321 million TL, to buy the exclusive rights to broadcast Turkish football for the next four years.

Now they force people to pay high subscription prices to buy the satellite dish, the receiver and pay a high amount of subscription to watch the matches of their favorite teams. And football is a quasi religion in this country. Unfortunately for them the Turkish Football league lacks excitement and good quality football this year. So this company cannot gain new subscribers as fast as they hoped. Ergo they are not making enough income.

There are some Turkish blogs, that show the footage of Turkish football matches. On line and free. They cause the company to lose money. Thus this satellite TV provider blames these few blogs and asks Google to close these illegal broadcasting blogs individually. And when this does not happen the TV company shuts down the whole blogger by court order. Does the TV company loses any sleep over this? No. Does Google lose any sleep over it? No way. Who does? The poor bloggers. Like me. Or like Izabela Szmit,a Polish girl who lives in Turkey at the moment:

Imagine that the ongoing (if I do not know, but ...) too long to lock on Youtube.com, it's time for ... Blogspot. So I write to you about it quickly and chaotically, because maybe this is my last entry ... But I like the orchestra on board the Titanic ... play to the end ...

The same TV company did blocked the blogger two years ago, when I have just started blogging, for the same reason. When the protest against them started to grow, first on internet later on other medias, they pulled back. The best punishment we the simple folks can give them is to cancel the TV subscriptions and let them lose more money.

As I use proxies I have no problems (yet) accessing by own blog. The whole thing is legal in Turkish jurisdiction system. But it is not moral.

After all God do not made greed a sin for no reason.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 10)

2011-03-03T00:08:00.001+02:00

Fast ferries M/V Osman Gazi and M/V Orhan Gazi on their
return trip to İstanbul. As of afternoon of 2. March.

According to the PrimeMinister's Office, from 19 February till 2 March, Turkey hasevacuated 21.505 people from Libya. 2.982 of the evacuees are foreignnationals.

The 1049 passengers onboard of ferry M/V Ankara are not included in the above total.

This was the biggestnon-combat evacuation operation Turkey has conducted in the recentyears.

The first noticable NEOwas evacuation from Albania in March 1997. The Knox class frigate F-251 TCG Adatepe was send to Albania to pick up 253 evacuees.

The second NEO was theevacuation from Lebanon in July 2006. This time the frigates F-493TCG Gelibolu, F-504 TCG Bartın and the naval ferry A-1600 TCGIskenderun were send to Beirut to pick up 700 Turkish citizens.

As you can see theprevious operations were very small in scale of the latest NEO fromLibya. I am very happy to see that the whole operation run verysmoothly and there were no serious incidents that might endanger thelives of the evacuees.

Nobody made an officialannouncement yet but it appears that the main part of the evacuationoperation is finished. The two fast ferries M/V Osman Gazi and M/VOrhan Gazi, which made two round trips to Libya are heading to hometo Istanbul.

One of the civilianferries M/V Ankara is as mentioned above on her way to Marmaris. I donot expect her to go back to Libya again. The second ferry M/V Samsunis in Benghazi. It is possible that she will be used for theevacuation of Egyptians trapped in Libya.

Today Turkish General Staff finally shared the names of all the naval vessels that took part in the evacuation operation. They are the frigates F-240 TCG Yavuz, F-245 TCG Oruçreis, F-246 TCG Salihreis, F-492 TCG Gemlik, F-493 TCG Gelibolu, F-494 TCG Gökçeada, the replenishment tanker A-585 TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör, and the trustworthy naval ferry A-1600 TCG Iskenderun.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 9)

2011-03-01T17:12:00.001+02:00

M/V Osman Gazi. Official photo.

Yesterday the fast ferry M/V Orhan Gazi arrived in Ras Lanuf, to embark the evacuees in this port. After completing this task she proceeded to Benghazi to pick up additional evacuees. She has left Benghazi with 1209 passengers on board and is heading to Marmaris at the moment.

Her sister M/V Osman Gazi was in Misurata yesterday morning to collect the evacuees here. Later she headed to Benghazi too. After taking more evacueess on board she has left Benghazi at 04:30 this morning with 1326 people on board.

M/V Ankara.

M/V Orhan Gazi is expected in Marmaris at 01:00 and M/V Osman Gazi is expected at 23:30. Before departing from Benghazi, naval replenishment tanker TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör supplied oil and water to these ferries in the port.

The ferry M/V Ankara left Tripolis today at 14:00 with 1049 passengers on board. 161 of them are Turkish citizens, rest from other nationalities. She is expected in Marmaris in 77 hours.

There is no word about M/V Samsun on today's official announcement of the MoFA. Yesterday she was heading to Tripolis harbor.

The frigate F-246 TCG Salihreis is escorting M/V Osman Gazi while frigate F-492 TCG Gemlik is escorting M/V Orhan Gazi. The replenishment tanker A-585 TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör and probably frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu are staying off the coast of Libya to provide protection and logistical support to other ships.

With todays evacuations the number of people evacuated by see increased to 8351. Turkey evacuated approximately 20444 people since the beginning of the crisis.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 10)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 9)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 8)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 7)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 6)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 5)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 4)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 3)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 2)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 1)

The Chief Of Staff Of Ukraine Gen. Pedchenko Visits Turkey

2011-03-01T09:04:00.000+02:00

Official photo from Turkish General Staff.

The Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,Colonel-General Grigory Pedchenko is in Turkey for an official visit.

Yesterday Colonel-General Pedchenko visited hisTurkish counterpart General Işık Koşaner.

According to the Ukrainian side the parties discussedkey issues and future prospects of cooperation between the armedforces of both countries.

Special attention was paid to the development ofbilateral partnership in the framework of regional initiatives,including joint participation in the Black Sea naval groupcooperation "Blackseafor", Operation Black Sea Harmony,confidence-building measures and security in the Black Sea.

The sides also exchanged views on the development ofmilitary-political situation in the region and analyze its impact onthe Black Sea area security.

While in Turkey, the Ukrainian military delegationwill to visit the operational center of operations of the TurkishArmed Forces of Turkey, 28th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the Armyunit earmarked for peacekeeping operations, 4th Main air base inAnkara, Fleet Command of Naval Forces and and defence companyASELSAN.

It is planned to harmonize existing cooperation ofthe training of troops participating in peacekeeping and antiterrorist exercises.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 8)

2011-02-28T23:07:00.003+02:00

It's nice to back at home.

Yesterday evening, at 17:30 the frigate F-245 TCG Oruçreis docked at Marmaris harbor. The frigate was carrying 212 people evacuated from Libya's Benghazi port.

Just short before midnight A-1600 TCG Iskenderun arrived in Marmaris harbor with 1528 evacuees from 26 nations.

Both ships were on the way since 25 February.

The Turkish Navy published photos from their voyage. They can see seen here.

While the naval ships were disembarking their guest in Marmaris the civilian ferries M/V Ankara and M/V Samsun docked in Tripolis harbour to pick up evacuees. This will be their first trip. The severe weather last week prevented them to reach Libya earlier.

TCG Iskenderun escorted by TCG Yavuz.

The fast ferry M/V Orhan Gazi arrived in Ras Lanuf, to embark the evacuees in this port. Later during the day she proceeded to Benghazi.

Her sister M/V Osman Gazi was in Misurata in the morning to collect the evacuees here. Later she headed to Benghazi too.

Currently all ferries are in Benghazi.

The MoFA reported that they were no Turks waiting for evacuation at the Tripoli airport.

And it was announced that as of 27 February 16,860 person was evacuated by Turkey from Libya. When the ferries leave at least with 4,000 additional evacuees, the operation will slow down I guess.

TCG Oruçreis arriving in Marmaris.

TCG Giresun Foils An Pirate Attack To M/V Kıran Asya

2011-02-28T18:40:00.000+02:00

TCG Giresun and M/V Avramid

The Turkish frigate F-491 TCG Giresun, foiled and attack of Somali pirates on the bulker M/V Kıran Asya on 27 February 2010.

The Turkish flagged bulker, was on route to Iraq, 85 miles east off the coast of Oman when she was attacked by pirates.

The helicopter of the frigate was rushed to the help of the merchant ship and with its arrival the pirates abandoned their attack.

The pirates tried to attack Panamanian flagged, Turkish owned M/V Avramid and Chinese fishing boat M/V Zen Hua within the hour. Again the helicopter intervened the pirates with warning shots and foiled their attack for the second time.

This incident clearly shows again that an armed helicopter is one of the most effective measures against pirates.

TCG Giresun will remain with the merchant ships and escort them till their passage from the region is completed.

Photos from Turkish General Staff.

3 Ex-Ministers May Face Charges Over Papanikolis Deal

2011-02-28T11:10:00.000+02:00

When on 22 December 2010, HS Papanikolis, first Type 214 submarine of Greek Navy, finally entered into active service, after a unique and long history of procurement, I thought the drama surrounding these submarines was eventually over.

The Greek daily Ekathimerini proved that I was wrong. The Financial and Economic Crime Unit (S.D.O.E) of the Greek Ministry of Finance has conducted an investigation about the prorucement of 4 type U-214 submarines from Germany. The SDOE recomends that three former ministers as well as severel public officials should face prosecution.

SDOE is due to deliver its findings to the Athens Prosecutor's Office this coming week and Greek judicial authorities will then make a request to German authorities for details of the financial transactions involved in the purchase of the submarines.SDOE will also ask for the bank accounts of all those alleged to be involved to be frozen.
...
It has been claimed that Ferrostaal, a subsidiary of the MAN Group until 2009, which was part of the consortium that won the contract in 2000 to supply the submarines, paid 10 to 12 million euros to secure the deal for the first of these vessels.The agreement for the four submarines was worth 1.26 billion euros.

This acquisition project is a true Greek tragedy.

Hat tip: Kobus.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 7)

2011-02-27T13:34:00.001+02:00

A-1600 TCG Iskenderun.

According to the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, civilian ferries M/F Samsun and M/F Ankara areheading to Tripoli to pick up evacuees.

In the meantime the fastferries M/F Osman Gazi and M/F Orhan Gazi, left Marmaris for a secondround and are heading to Libya again.

M/F Osman Gazi will dock inMisurata and M/F Orhan Gazi will dock in Ras Lanuf. Both ships areexpected to arrive at their destines ports in the morning of 28.February 2010.

F-245 TCG Oruçreis loadedwith 210 evacuees is sprinting to Marmaris. TCG Oruçreis was alsoproviding protection to the A-1600 TCG Iskenderun the naval passengercarrier. TCG Iskenderun has left Libya with 1528 persons on board.427 of these evacuees are from 25 different nations.

M/F Ankara. Civilian sister of TCG Iskenderun

Now the Turkish MoFAannounced that F-240 TCG Yavuz will escort TCG Iskenderun during herjourney to Marmaris. TCG Oruçreis is expected to arrive in Marmaristhis afternoon. The TCG Iskenderun will reach Marmaris aroundmidnight.

The Turkish MoFA alsostated that during their stay in the Libyan ports and during thereturn trip the civilian ferries will be protected by SAT teams ofTurkish naval special forces.

Russia Wants Turkish Warships To Escort Ferry From Libya

2011-02-27T02:59:00.000+02:00

Photo:Fabry Pagliara

According to Voice Of Russia news portal, Russia's Emergency Minister Sergei Shoygu wants a Turkish warship to escort the ferry M/F Sveti Stefan II, evacuating Russians and citizens of other countries from Libya’s Ras Lanuf port.

The Montenegrin ferry was chartered by Russian Federation and she is on her way to Libya. Russia expects Libya to let the vessel enter the port Ras Lanuf, where she is awaited by 1126 people, including 124 Russians.

Which one of the Turkish warships will escort the ferry is not clear at the moment.

UNIFIL News

2011-02-27T02:38:00.001+02:00

While the attention in the Mediterranean is focused on the revolutions in the North Africa especially toward Libya this week, life goes on in other parts of the Mediterranean.

The maritime task force (MTF) of UNIFIL has a new commander. Rear Admiral Luiz Henrique Caroli of Brazil assumed command of the MTF of UNIFIL,on 24 February 2010, in a ceremony aboard Turkish frigate F-243 TCG Yıldırım, at Beirut Harbor.

Despite taking the command, Brazil did not send a warship to the task force.

Currently UNIFIL-MTF currently comprises from following warships:

Pennant	Ship	County	Type
F-243	TCG Yıldırım	Turkey	Frigate
F-18	BNS Osman	Bangladesh	Frigate
P-911	BNS Madhumati	Bangladesh	Patrol Craft
A-516	FGS Donau	Germany	Tender
M-1093	FGS Auerbach	Germany	Minehunter
P-6130	FGS Hyaene	Germany	Fast Attack Craft
P-26	HS Degiannis	Greece	Fast Attack Craft
P-266	HS Machitis	Greece	Patrol Craft
368	KRI Frans Kaisiepo	Indonesia	Corvette
Bosphorus Naval News

UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas handed over the MTF command to Rear Admiral Caroli in the presence of representatives of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) as well as diplomats and officers from UNIFIL Troop Contributing Countries.

Major-General Asarta thanked Brazil for its contribution and praised the work of the MTF and the Lebanese Navy. Rear Admiral Caroli said he was looking forward to his task.

Click here to read the official text.

Yesterday, one of the Bangladeshi contributions to UNIFIL-MTF, Jianghu I class frigate F-18 BNS Osman arrived in Mersin for a short port visit.

She was again in Mersin in June 2010.

This time I was able to obtain a photo via a good friend.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 6 - UPDATED)

2011-02-27T00:16:00.002+02:00

TCG Iskenderun in Benghazi. Courtesy of Turkish General Staff

Today, on 26 February2010, frigate F-245 TCG Oruçreis and ferry TCG Iskenderun leftBenghazi with 1738 people on board.

TCG Oruçreis has 210person, 122 Turkish 90 from USA, Bosnia, Poland, Serbia, Macedoniaand Romania.

TCG Iskenderun has 1528person on board, 1099 Turkish, 427 from Vietnam, Bosnia, Macedonia,South Korea, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, Syria, Tunisia,Jordan, Morocco, Thailand, USA, Philippines, Iraq, Pakistan, India,Italy, Canada, Libya, Lebanon, United Kingdom, Romania and Algeria.

Both ships left Libya inthe morning. They are expected to arrive in Marmaris on 28 February,Monday, in the morning.

TCG Oruçreis in Benghazi. Courtesy of Turkish General Staff

It is not clear at the moment whether the other Turkish frigate in the region are going to embark passengers too.

In the meantime civiliansferries M/F Ankara and M/F Samsun have resumed their journey towardsLibya after the gale in the Mediterranean has weakened. They areexpected to arrive in Libya tomorrow.

~~The fast ferries M/F Orhan Gazi and M/F Osman Gazi are still in Marmaris waiting for the dispatch order.~~

On 25. and 26. Februarymost of the evacuation from Libya was done by airplanes. TurkishAirlines continues its normal scheduled flights to Tripoli. But thecompany also dedicated numerous planes for chartered flights toTunisia and Egypt were many has arrived on land routes.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 5)

2011-02-25T09:59:00.002+02:00

The wind chart of Gulf of Sidra.
Source: http://www.weatheronline.co.uk

The adverse windconditions in the Mediterranean makes evacuation of foreigners fromLibya by sea difficult.

This morning a galewarning was made by Athens' meteorological center valid from 04:30this morning til 16:00.

The both fast ferries M/FOsman Gazi and M/F Orhan Gazi are still in Marmaris, waiting for abetter sea conditions.

The civilian ferry M/FSamsun was last seen on AIS, off the coast of Crete. As there is abig gap of AIS coverage in the middle of the Mediterranean, betweenGreece and Libya it is not clear whether she has proceed to Libya orwaiting for a better weather. Her sister M/F Ankara left Istanbulyesterday is off the coast Greece again waiting for a better weather.

Yesterday the Ministry ofForeign Affairs reported that the military ferry A-1600 TCGIskenderun docked at Bengazi harbor at 13:10 local time. In theevening the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that passengerswere embarking to TCG Iskenderun.

But, as I write these blog post, it was still not clear whether she has left Libya with passengers ornot.

It seems that to day themajority of the evacuations will be done by air, as the gale in theMediterranean makes sea voyages extremely difficult.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 10)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 9)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 8)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 7)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 6)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 5)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 4)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 3)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 2)
The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 1)

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 4)

2011-02-24T09:36:00.002+02:00

Last night (23.2.2010) at23:45 the first ferry M/F Orhan Gazi carrying 1516 person arrived inMarmaris after a 19 hours trip from Benghazi.

Two hours later the secondferry M/F Osman Gazi carrying 1512 person arrived in Marmaris too.

Both have a seating for1250 persons. And as they are used for short max 2 – 2,5 tripsacross Marmara Sea they do not have proper sleeping bunks but justseats.

Both are currently inMarmaris readying for a return trip. This time they may head toTripoli

In the meanwhile themilitary ferry TCG Iskenderun is expected to arrive in Libya today.But as AIS transponder is not turned on and as Turkish Navy doesn'tsay a word about the ships they have send for this operation it isnot possible to say where TCG Iskenderun is exactly.

Position of M/F Samsun as 23:45 23.2.2010

M/F Samsun is still on herway to Libya. She has left Istanbul on the night of 22.2.2011. Withan average speed of 11,4 knots she will arrive in Benghazi in 28hours.

Her sister M/F Ankara started her voyage to Libya today ataround midnight. She will arrive off Libya in 3 days.

This is the fourth day and there is still no word neither from the Turkish General Staff nor from the Turkish Navy about the frigates and security teams dedicated to this evacuation mission. There are unconfirmed reports that Turkey will send three additional warships to region. One of the frigates is rumored F-245 TCG Oruçreis. These frigates will carry helicopters and naval special forces teams.

Currently the frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu, ferry A-1600 TCG Iskenderun and one unnamed replenishment tanker either A-580 TCG Akar or A-595 TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör are off Libya.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 3)

2011-02-23T10:35:00.002+02:00

According to TurkishForeign Ministry, the fast ferry M/F Orhan Gazi departed from Benghazi03:30 this morning and her sister M/F Osman Gazi at 05:00.

Both areheading to Marmaris, Muğla the nearest Turkish town with sufficientharbor capacity and a large airport nearby.

They are each carrying 1500passengers 250 more than sitting capacity. The estimated time ofarrival in Marmaris is around midnight. The Turkish frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu will escort them and provide cover if necessary.

The ferries, M/F Samsun and M/F Ankara, both were in port in Istanbul at the weekend are onemilitary two civilian are expected to arrive Libya tomorrow.

This is the third day and there is still no word neither from the Turkish General Staff nor from the Turkish Navy about the frigates and security teams dedicated to this evacuation mission. There are unconfirmed reports that Turkey will send three additional warships to region. These frigates will carry helicopters and naval special forces teams.

Currently the frigate F-493 TCG Gelibolu, ferry A-1600 TCG Iskenderun and one unnamed replenishment tanker either A-580 TCG Akar or A-595 TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör are off Libya.

The Evacuation Of Turkish Citizens From Libya (Day 2)

2011-02-22T12:17:00.001+02:00

As Libya plunges more into a kaos and heads towards a potential civil / tribal war the efforts to evacuate Turkish citizens from Libya continues.

According to news coming from Libya the airport of Benghazi is destroyed. Thus evacuation from the sea seems to be one of the possibilities. The other one is over land transport in coaches to the Egyptian border. This is clearly the most dangerous option.

the above map shows the last know locations of the two fast ferries on their way to Libya. This information is almost one hour old as I write it. It was reported that, one of them is heading to Derna and the other one is heading to Trablus. Estimated time of arrival in Derna is 4 hours and in Trablus is 15 hours. This informaiton is taken from http://www.marinetraffic.com.

There is still no word neither from the Turkish General Staff nor from the Turkish Navy about the frigates and security teams dedicated to this evacuation mission. In similar evacuation missions the naval special forces teams were used to provide the security of the ships and the civilians in the harbour.

In the meantime it was announced that Turkey will send two more ferries to Libya. The ferries M/F Ankara and M/F Samsun are civilian sisters of A-1600 TCG Iskenderun. It will take 40 hours until they arrive in Libya. Each of the can carry 800 passengers.

Ship	Capacity	Speed
TCG Iskenderun	800	15
M/F Osman Gazi	1200	33
M/F Orhan Gazi	1200	33
M/F Samsun	800	15
M/F Ankara	800	15
Bosphorus Naval News

MRTP 16 Fast Intervention Boats For UAE

2011-02-21T13:52:00.004+02:00

During the IDEX 2011, Murad BAYAR, Undersecretary for Defence Industries announced that a protocol on production of STAMP systems in United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be signed between two countries.

In IDEX 2009, UAE awarded an USD 125 million contract to build 34 fast interceptors to Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB). The Turkish shipyard Yonca Onuk is the principal subcontractor in this contract and will built the initial 12 boats. The remaining 22 will be constructed in ADSB's shipyard.

The boats will be used by UAE Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA) to protects its critical off-shore installations.

So far 5 boats are delivered. The first boat was shipped to UAE in March 2010. The sixth and seventh boats are launched in December 2010 and are currently conducting sea trials.

These boats based on the KAAN 15 class fast intervention boats, used by the Turkish Coast Guard. The UAE boats are fitted with ASELSAN's STAMP stabilized machine gun platform. The producer and the type of the machine gun that will arm these boats be are yet to be disclosed.

I know, I will not receive any Oscar's for this time lapse video. But nevertheless it gives you a general idea about these boats.

TCG İskenderun Heads To Libya, To Evacuate Turkish Citizens (UPDATED)

2011-02-21T10:51:00.006+02:00

Accordingto a source on location, A-1600 TCG İskenderun left Mersin thismorning and is heading to Libya, to pick up the trapped Turkishcitizens.

It isestimated that there are 25.000 Turkish citizens in Libya currentlymostly working at the projects of the Turkish construction companies.

Thedaily Hürriyet reported that till yesterday, 581 Turkish citizenshave returned to Turkey by air. Libyan civil aviation authority didnot gave landing permission to a THY plane on route to Benghazi anthe plane had to return to Turkey this morning.

There are no official announcements neither from Turkish General Staff nor fromTurkish Navy about the departure of TCG İskenderun yet.

She isa car ferry built in Camialtı Shipyard, in Istanbul to a Polishdesign. She is one of the three ships of the same class. The othertwo M/F Ankara and M/F Samsun are used by Turkish Maritime Lines. M/F İskenderun was handed over to Turkish Navy in 2002.

TCGİskenderun was used for the evacuation of Turkish citizens trappedin Beirut during the 2006 Israeli – Hezbollah war.

Official IDO Photo.

UPDATE: According to news portal ntvmsnbc Turkey is sending two more ferries to Libya for the evacuation of Turkish citizens. An unnamed frigate will escort them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a crisis center for the situation. Approximately 3000 people asked for evacuation.

The two passenger ferries to be used are, Auto Express 88 class M/F Osmangazi and M/F Orhangazi. They are built by Austal, and each can carry 1200 passengers and 225 cars. They are usually used in coastal routes around the Marmara Sea. This will be their longest journey with passengers.

UPDATE 2: The passenger ferries left Istanbul at 13:00 local time and the are estimated to reach Libya in 22 hours.

Running Silent and Deep

2011-02-18T16:24:00.000+02:00

The biggest NATO anti submarine warfare exercise Proud Manta was conducted in the Ionian Sea to the Southeast of Sicily and ended yesterday, 17 February 2011.

NATO has uploaded an interesting video about the exercise.

Sledgehammer And Turkish Navy

2011-02-17T12:11:00.001+02:00

Last week 10^thHigh Criminal court of Istanbul issued arrest warrants for 163officers of Turkish Armed forces in connection with the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) case.

106 of the officers,arrested, are currently serving in the armed forces. Some of themwere arrested last year again in connection with the Balyoz case butlater they were released as the court decided it was not necessaryfor their imprisonment during the case.

So what has changed? Whyare these officers arrested some for the second time. Well inDecember last year, after an anonymous tip off the police found somedocuments alleged to be related to the planed military coup thearrested officers are accused of.

There are manyinconsistencies and gross mistakes in the first set of the documentson which the case whole case is build upon.

Whether the arrestedofficers are really guilty in planning a military coup or that thewhole case is just a very big scaled hoax will be determined duringthe trial.

Out of the 106 active duty officers arrested, 31 are generals or admirals. There are 301 generals and admirals in the Turkish armed forces. Thus every one out of ten general/admiral is behind bars at the moment and some them were destined to go higher. But the Balyoz case put all these carefully laid plans in jeopardy.

According to the PersonnelLaw of the Turkish Armed Forces an active officer who is on a trialcannot be promoted to a higher rank before the case has ended. It means that the 106 active duty officers now under arrest will not getany promotions before the Balyoz case is finished, even if they arereleased from the prison during the case.

What does it mean? Itmeans that the whole promotion system evolved in the Turkish ArmedForces is in disarray at the moment. Like in all other armed forceswith longs standing traditions around world the promotions of theofficers especially those in flag positions are carefully arrangedand there are certain key positions on the road to the top.

What worries me is a trial of just magnitude will take at least a couple of years until a verdict can be reached. Some analyst predict that the Balyoz case may continue 3 to 5 years and this estimate does not include the period needed for the appeal to to the higher court. Alone the reading of the indictment lasted 13 court sessions. Now given the estimated length of the trials these officers will not get any promotions for the next 3 to 5 years at least.

The situation isespecially dire for the Turkish Navy. 11 admirals are in imprisonmentat the moment. Among them are commander of the Northern Sea Area andcommander of Southern Sea Area. A quick glance to the organizational chart of the Turkish Navy will reveal that these two are among top 4commands in the navy. And it is a tradition that the Commander of theNorthern Sea Area is promoted unless he messes up big time to be theCommander of the Fleet. And the Commander of the Fleet is actually aCommander of Turkish Naval Forces in waiting.

Among the imprisonedadmirals are: Commander of Submarine Group Command, Commander of thePlans and Policy Department, chief of Staff of the Fleet Command,Deputy Commander of Navy Personnel Department, Commander of SouthernTask Force. All important and key commands for the navy.

The Balyoz case did notonly put the traditional and carefully planned promotion scheme buildon hard work and loyalty in disarray, it also has created enoughdiversion and distracted all services from their primary duty ofnational defence as many of the top brass was busy with theirpersonal self defence.

Sun Tzu said: Forto win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acmeof skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

The enemies of Turkish Navy are having a field day without the doubt.

Turks To Help Britain Built It's Type 26 Frigate

2011-02-16T00:09:00.000+02:00

News from the 3 day Inward Mission from Turkey Naval sector organised by UKTI DSO has started to leak.

It was meant a way to promote business to business relations between Turkey and UK, especially on naval projects. I have already reported about it here and here.

The first informations surfacing on the media however caught me on the wrong foot. According to the article published on 14 Feburary 2010 on Wall Street Journal, Turkey and UK may work on the Britain's next generation frigate Type 26:

LONDON—The U.K. and Turkey are negotiating a military pact that would see the two European powers take part in joint exercises and share expertise, a person familiar with the matter said.
The agreement underscores how the U.K., Europe's most active military, is eager to work more closely with allied militaries amid budget cuts. In October, the British government announced cuts to the military budget of 7.5% over the next four years.

An accompanying Security and Defense Strategy Review placed great emphasis on alliances and partnerships to "enhance capability."

Britain hopes to have completed its memorandum of understanding with Turkey by July, this person said. Much of the deal will hinge on joint exercises. For instance, the U.K. could train helicopter pilots in Turkey, whose hot and mountainous terrain replicates Afghanistan.

Further down the line, the two countries are looking at cooperating on equipment programs.

One "possibility" is that the Turks would help build Britain's Type 26 Frigate, a type of naval ship due to enter service in the early 2020s. Britain also wants to offer more places to train Turkish officers at its Royal College of Defence Studies and the Turks will invite British personnel to their training courses.

A spokesman for the Turkish defense ministry couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.

Well that would be a first. I know that parts of British warships are sometimes constructed at foreign yards for cost saving measures and when I first about the Inward Mission, I thought that UK would offer help to Turkey in warship construction, not the other way around.

But may be times are changing.

Enterprise Sailors Save Turkish Man's Life (UPDATED)

2011-02-12T16:35:00.002+02:00

Four Sailors from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, saved a Turkish man's life by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while on liberty in Marmaris, Turkey, from deployed aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

Aviation Electrician's Mate 2nd Class (AW) Christopher Hockey, Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Jacob Kudrin, Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Brian Jones, and Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Brandon Plummer were on their way back to the ship after spending the day in town when they witnessed a man fall, hitting his head and slumping to the ground, unconscious.

When the four Sailors checked for the man's pulse and found none, they told nearby pedestrians to call for help. Hockey began to administer CPR while the other three Sailors assisted. When police and medical personnel arrived, the Sailors' efforts successfully revived the injured man.

The man was rushed to the hospital for further treatment.

Click here to read the whole text.

BZ to fast thinking and acting sailors of USS Enterprise. Such action coming from training and from the heart are very valuable and help strengthen the bonds between the nations.

UPDATE: Here is a photo as Aviation Electrician's Mate 2nd Class (AW) Christopher Hockey admisitrating CPR:

Photo from http://maggazinhaber.com via The Shuttle

For more information about the incident and photos click here.

H/T: Dave Shirlaw

A Mine Was Found In Güllük

2011-02-11T13:59:00.000+02:00

A fishing boat found a mine in its nets when it was hunting in Güllük Bay, Muğla.

The rusted mine was brought to the harbor by the boat and was carefully lifted to the shore.

In such cases the local authorities call in the naval special forces EOD teams in order to destroy the mine.

In 2010 alone in three different occasions a mine was found in Didim, Karasu and Artvin.

The photo is from Posta daily.

Commander of Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces Was In Ankara

2011-02-09T16:44:00.000+02:00

Official Turkish Navy Photo

Admiral Masahiko Sugimoto, the commander of Maritime Self Defence Forces was in Turkey between 3 and 6 February.

He met with with his Turkish counterpart Admiral Eşref Uğur Yiğit as part of his formal visit to Ankara. As Japanese constitution prohibits Japan to export weapon systems the two admirals had not much to talk, except from pleasantries.

But I bet they have talked about the on going piracy problem in the Gulf of Aden too, as both countries send warships to the region.

Turkish Navy To Continue Anti-piracy Operations

2011-02-09T16:01:00.000+02:00

On Monday, 7 February 2011, Turkishparliament passed a motion submitted by the government, to extend thepresence of Turkish warships in Gulf of Aden for one year. This is the second extention for this mission.

According to Defence Minister VecdiGönül on average, 360 - 380 Turkish flagged or owned merchant shipspass through the Gulf of Aden every year.

Since 2008 in 15 different operationsTurkish naval forces captured 94 pirates.

Click here to read the debate in theparliament.

Fire On TCSG-301

2011-02-09T15:30:00.003+02:00

TCSG - 301 in her better days

Undersecretariat For Maritime Affairs announced that a fire broke out in the engine room of Coast guard vessel TCSG-301 on 4 February ~~2010~~ 2011.

The fire started while the boat was onsea off the coast of Zonguldak. Another coast guard vessel TCSG-128help extinguishing the fire. The extend of the damage and the causeof the fire is unknown.

TCSG-301, is a Kaan 33 class patrolcraft built at Yonca Onuk shipyard in Istanbul. Turkish Coast Guardoperates 13 of these vessels and ordered 9 more. They are build ofadvanced composite material. Thus the damage the fire has causedcould be serious.

USS Enterprise In Marmaris

2011-02-09T15:10:00.001+02:00

The oldest serving US Navy aircraft carrier CVN-65 USS Enterprise is in Marmaris, Turkey for a four day port visit.

This will be the second port visit of USS Enterprise in her 21st deployment.

Special security preparations were taken before the visit and during her stay in Marmaris USS Enterprise will be guarded by Turkish Coast Guard vessels around the clock.

Before heading to the turbulent Egypt and passing the Suez canal, US sailors do need a good break from the daily working routine.

Click here to watch a news of a Turkish TV channel on USS Enterprise.

Notice To Mariners

2011-02-03T19:48:00.001+02:00

I have been toying withthe idea of combining my two presences in www, the Bosphorus NavalNews blog and Unofficial Homepage of Turkish Navy web page under thesame URL.

I have been editing andmaintaining Unofficial Homepage of Turkish Navy since 1997. It allstarted as a small page on geocities, in the early days of web 1.0.For the last 7 years Unofficial Homepage Of Turkish Navy been hostedunder its own URL turkishnavy.net. This URL is very widely known. Thepages about Turkish Navy are static due to their content and thereis not much interactivity with the visitors.

My blog Bosphorus NavalNews on the other hand is more dynamic and making itself known. Butthere was no organic linkage between the blog and the web page.

ThusI have decided to move the blog to the URL of the web page and createstatic pages the tabs you see below the blog header and transfer thedata of the static web pages to the blog.

But the change in ofdefinitions and IP address seems to be more problematic than I hadthought. Currently I have lost all the traffic coming from Turkey asthe IP address configured belong to Google and they are blocked inTurkey. So no one from Turkey using normal browsing methods can seemy blog including me. And visitors out of Turkey cannot reach thepages hosted in Unofficial Homepage of Turkish Navy asturkishnavy.net is directed to my blog.

I am sorry for theseinconveniences. But I am working on these issues and I hope to solvethem over the weekend.

If you should experienceany problems please let me know: navytr[at]gmail[dot]com

Problems With The Infiltration Boats Or Is It Just A Journalistic Fart?

2011-02-01T00:34:00.000+02:00

Last week Zaman newspaper run a story about alleged irregularities by the acceptance of special forces infiltration boat.

According to the article during the acceptance test the commission noticed a number of deficiencies in the main propulsion system and speed and handling performances of the boat. Although the inspection team did not approve the acceptance of the boat, the newspaper states the boat was never the less accepted by Turkish Navy an admiral in charge took the responsibility and admitted the boats despite the deficiencies.

After the publication of this article, Turkish Defence Ministry released an announcement on the subject saying that the responsibility of the acceptance of the boats lies within Undersecretariat for Defence Industries as the procurement agency and all acceptance test are conducted by UDI. According to the statement there are some deficiencies with second boat which was only temporarily accepted. It is hoped that this reported problems will be rectified before the permanent acceptance.

The ministry also mentioned that this was the official acceptance procedures for all ongoing naval projects.

Well Zaman newspaper is openly anti military and the article has some obvious gross mistakes in it such a mixing the term LOA with the turning radius. They have also not much clue how the acquisition process between the end user, the manufacturer and the procurement agency works and who is responsible for what. But they were quick to jump to a conclusion that something fouls was within the navy.

Interestingly they seem to have removed the above mentioned article from their website. We thank Google for its cache in times like these.

On the other hand Yonca Onuk needs to work on the performance issues of these boats as mentioned by the statement of Defence Ministry.

Will Russian Submarine Alrosa Participate In Bold Monarch, Or Not?

2011-01-29T02:12:00.000+02:00

Proud Manta 11 is not the only majorNATO naval exercise planned for this year in the Mediterranean.

Exercise Bold Monarch 2011, a majorNATO live submarine escape and rescue exercise will be in theMediterranean off the coast of Cartegena, Spain from 1-9 June 2011.Approximately 2000 participants will come from over 10 nations,including 3 partner nations and 1 Mediterranean Dialogue country.

During the exercise, three submarines,one each from the Netherlands, Norway and France, will be bottomed tosimulate sinking. Support personnel and equipment from Canada, FranceGermany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, TheRussian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United Stateswill work together to solve complex rescue and medical problems in avariety of demanding scenarios.

This last information contradics withnews from Russia. The Russian Website Rusnavy claims that RussianBlack Sea Fleet is preparing Kilo Class submarine Alrosa for thisexercise, although definitive decision has not been made yet. If thedecision is positive, the submarine would have to sail off Sevastopolearly in May to reach the Mediterranean Sea via Bosporus andDardanelles.

Considering that Bold Monarch is asearch-and-rescue exercise, several BSF salvage ships and tugs may alsopaticipate.

Will a Russian submarine realy take part in a NATO exercise? We will have to wait. Numbered days passes quickly says one Turkish proverb.

NATO Is Preparing For Proud Manta 2011

2011-01-29T00:55:00.003+02:00

The biggest NATO anti submarine warfareexercise Proud Manta (previously known as NOBLE MANTA) will be conducted in the Ionian Sea to theSoutheast of Sicily between 4 – 17 February 2011.

Ten NATO nations, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, will provide 6submarines, 19 aircraft (including ship based helos) and 8 surface ships.

According to NATO the aim of theexercise is to enhance the operational proficiency andinteroperability of the participating forces across a broad spectrumof potential tasks, roles and missions of the NATO Response Force(NRF). The exercise also provides a challenging operationalenvironment to test new doctrine, tactics; and equipment.Participants will practice the tactics and techniques currently beingused in ongoing NATO operations such as Active Endeavour and Ocean Shield as well as other war fighting skills to maintain the high levelof readiness expected of NATO forces.

Order of Battle for Proud Manta 11 is:

Surface Ships
F-930	BNS Leopold 1	Frigate	Belgium
D-641	FS Dupleix	Destroyer	France
F-214	FGC Lübeck	Frigate	Germany
D-554	ITS Caio Duilio	Destroyer	Italy
A-5326	ITS Etna	Replenishment Tanker	Italy
F-575	ITS Euro	Frigate	Italy
A-5366	ITS Levanzo	Tender	Italy
DGG-55	USS Stout	Destroyer	USA

Submarines
S-113	HS Proteus	Type 209 / 1100	Greece
S-73	SPS Mistral	Agosta	Spain
S-524	ITS Longobardo	Imp. Sauro	Italy
S-354	TCG Sakarya	Type 209 / 1400	Turkey
S-349	TCG Batıray	Type 209 / 1200	Turkey
SSN-691	USS Memphis	Los Angeles	USA

Greece Will Paticipate In US - Israeli Naval Exercise

2011-01-27T18:56:00.002+02:00

According to Greek blog Strategy Report, Greek Navy will participate for the first time in anti-submarine exercise «Noble Dina», which until now was held between Israel and of the U.S. 6th Fleet in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.

The exercise is scheduled for 4 to 14 April and will cover an area from Sudan, to Crete and to Israel. The scenarios and the precise areas of international waters, which will develop co-trainee forces will be determined on a tripartite meeting in early February.

The Greek Navy is expected to participate with a frigate, a submarine and naval cooperation aircraft.

My Impressions From Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology Trade Fair

2011-01-26T23:52:00.000+02:00

I have attended the firstday of the SSM exhibition and conference. It was not quite as I wasexpecting.

Mr. Serdar Demirel,Head of Naval Department, Undersecretariatfor Defence Industries, was also listed as a speaker. He was therebut during his short speech he mentioned that he did not expected tomake any speeches today, therefore he was not prepared at all. Wellthis is a major f.ck-up for the organizators.

Naval shipbuildingprojects are the life line of the Turkish ship building industry inthese dire years. Thus although SMMM is a civilian orientated tradefair the military side of Turkish shipbuilding industry could havebeen stressed better.

One factor for the obviouslack of interest and presence of shipyards with ongoing militaryprojects may be the upcoming IDEF exhibition in May 2011.International Defence Industry Fair is the trade fair for the defenceindustry in this region and most probably the companies allocatedtheir budgets for this event.

After the openingspeeches, the first session of the conference started with anexcellent presentation of Mr. Taner Akkaya, Military ProjectsCoordinator, Dearsan Shipyard. He talked about the New Type PatrolBoat project.

The first boat of thisclass P-1200 TCG Tuzla was delivered to Turkish Navy on 4 January2011. Currently Turkish Navy is conducting its own acceptance testsbefore this boat is officially commissioned. In an unprecedented moveTurkish Navy decided to give a proper name to these boats. In TurkishNavy tradition such boats were called TCG ABxy. AB is theabbreviation of A(vcı) B(otu), which means hunter/patrol boat and xyis the last two numbers of the boats pennant number. But the firstboat of this class is christened as TCG Tuzla in honor of the mostimportant shipbuilding region of Turkey.

Before handing the boatover to the Turkish Navy, Dearsan realized 63 FAT's, 81 HAT's, 71SAT's and a 2400 miles long cruise. The trials speed was 2,5 knotsover the contract value. The shipyard more fuel tanks than demanded.These additional fuel tanks increase the endurance of the boats from3 days to 7 days. During the trials the boat covered 1300 miles at14 kntos %30 more than specified in the contract.

Mr. Akkaya stressedthrough his presentation that Dearsan's in house designing team wasresponsible for the design of these boats from sketch. This might bein defence of the rumors that these boats resemble very much RAN'sArmidale class very much. He also mentioned the difficulties theyhave experienced with the sub contractors. Most of the sub contractswere chosen from companies that previously participated in Milgemproject and know how to work for a naval shipbuilding project. Neverthe less some sub contractors did not have the necessary security,class and quality certifications and these companies were financed byDearsan for the certification process. This highlight one importantweakness of the industry: creating, maintaining and updating thedocuments such as user manuals, quality and warranty certificates andsuch.

An interesting point in MrAkkaya's presentation was when he mentioned an article of thecontract they have signed for this project. According to article 14Turkish State, as a party of the contract promised that all StateInstitutions would provide all the possible help for the fulfillmentof this contract. This is a very odd clause and is an obvious signthat Turkey takes these shipbuilding projects very seriously.

What Mr Akkaya did not sayduring his presentation was the fact that Dearsan succeeded inselling two of these boats to Turkmenistan. The estimated contractvalue is 100 million USD.

Following thispresentation was a questions and answer season with Mr. Akkaya andMr. Demirel. I will not write all the questions and answers inlength, just highlights that I found worth sharing:

Turkish Navy and Undersecretariat for Defence Industries are very proud on Milgem andthe impact Milgem project had over the Turkish shipbuilding industry.The Milgem project achieved an important change for a civilian marketoriented industry that had no idea on military shipbuildingstandarts.

UDI regards the secondship of the Milgem class TCG Büyükada as a second prototype. Somechanges and improvements were incorporated in this ship, that werepreviously unthinkable or considered too bold. But soon a privateshipyard will be selected as the producer for the remaining Milgems.

Marine propulsion is setas the next important milestone bu UDI. This fact was emphasizedagain today. UDI is currently in talks with MTU, MAN and other marinepropulsion manufacturers for production in Turkey. Marine propulsionis regarded very critical:

UDI sees a considerableexport potential in Milgem, NTPB and Fast LCT classes as theseprovide original solutions for navies. And the foreign sales of theseships are officially supported by UDI.

The trade fair willcontinue till Friday, 28 January. The conference will end tomorrowevening.

Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology Trade Fair

2011-01-25T18:39:00.000+02:00

SMM Istanbul 2011 – shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology trade fair, will start tomorrow.

Turkishshipbuilding projects, especially military projects will be onthe focus in this first major event of the year for theinternational shipbuilding industry.

Amajor element in SMM Istanbul 2011 is the accompanying two-day international conference on 26 and 27 January, providingcomprehensive exchange of knowledge and experience and informingparticipants of the status and future development of the Turkishshipbuilding industry which I intend to attend.

I hope to write about it later this week.

A "Piece Of Spain That Sails"

2011-01-25T17:31:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, I was cordially invited like all other citizens of Istanbul to the temporary SpanishEmbassy in Istanbul.

It was one of the most interesting and enjoyablehalf an hour I have had. This is a benefit of being unemployed at the moment. I could never spare me time to visit the ship if I was working.

Of course Spain has a permanent representation in Istanbul where you can go by appointmentbut it is no match in advertising for Spain with the one I havevisited: the sailing training ship of the Spanish Navy: Juan Sebastián Elcano.

The four mast schooner Elcano is making a four day visit in Istanbul instead of their yearly trip to the United States and the ship is open for the public.

In the brochure given to us it says

Her role as floating embassy is reviewable as well. Her presence in foreign ports supports Spanish foreign policy and besides showing a beautiful image of our motherland, she also let those Spanish people living abroad to take one step in this “piece of Spain that sails”

She does these things very efficiently I must say. I have alwaysfound the lack of a sailing training ship in Turkish Navy a big andalmost fatal shortage.

Currently, two old ex German supply ships are used for the training cruises of the naval cadets. There are also about 10 sailing yachts at the Turkish Naval Academy. But these assets are not sufficient to teach the future naval officers the challenges of the seas and torepresent Turkey in foreign ports.

In December 2008, the Defence Industry Executive Committee gave approval for the start of training ship acquisition project. And on 29 January 2009,Undersecretariat for Defense Industries issued a Request forInformation (RfI) document about schooner type ships. But nothingsince then happened.

Until we see our “piece of Turkey that sails” in foreign ports admiredby locals, we have to admire those who come to us.

A Case Study On MV Avrasya Hijacking

2011-01-19T18:15:00.000+02:00

Ona chilly January evening, 188 passengers boarded the MV Avrasya, a 3,383–ton, Panama-flagged ferry, in the Black Sea port of Trabzon, Turkey, for a 12-hour voyage to Sochi, Russia. It turned out to be a journey they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Mr. Phillip Null , U.S. Coast Guard team leader has prepared a very interesting and detailed case study about the hijacking of M/V Avrasya in 1996.

I have found this article by chance, when I was surfing the net and thought it would be appropriate to share.

Case Study: MV Avrasaya Hostage Siege

TCG Giresun Has Left For Horn of Africa

2011-01-18T20:55:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, without the usual publicity and drum beat Turkish Navy announced that F-491 TCG Giresun, has left Aksaz Naval Base to join the NATO's Standing Maritime Group 2.

SNMG -2 is currently taking part in Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's anti piracy operation off the Horn of Africa. TCG Giresun will replace F-490 TCG Gaziantep, which is in the region since mid October.

Previously such deployments of Turkish warships were announced a few days before and media would be invited. The obvious lack of PR work about this deployment is curious.

Turkish Warship Deployments To Horn Of Africa (Sorted by Ship Name)
No	Ship	Departure	Return	Task Force
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	17 Jun 2009	6 Oct 2009	CTF-151
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	15 Oct 2010	1 Dec 2010	CTF-151
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	1 Dec 2010	31 Jan 2011	SNMG-2
F 491	TCG Giresun	17 Feb 2009	17 Jun 2009	CTF-151
F 492	TCG Gemlik	8 Feb 2010	24 Apr 2010	CTF-151
F 493	TCG Gelibolu	5 Mar 2010	5 Aug 2010	SNMG-2
F 494	TCG Gökçeada	5 Aug 2010	1 Dec 2010	CTF-151
F 495	TCG Gediz	21 Jun 2009	6 Oct 2009	SNMG-2
F 496	TCG Gökova	15 Oct 2009	8 Feb 2010	CTF-151

Turkish Warship Deployments To Horn Of Africa (Sorted by Departure Date)
No	Ship	Departure	Return	Task Force
F 491	TCG Giresun	17 Feb 2009	17 Jun 2009	CTF-151
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	17 Jun 2009	6 Oct 2009	CTF-151
F 495	TCG Gediz	21 Jun 2009	6 Oct 2009	SNMG-2
F 496	TCG Gökova	15 Oct 2009	8 Feb 2010	CTF-151
F 492	TCG Gemlik	8 Feb 2010	24 Apr 2010	CTF-151
F 493	TCG Gelibolu	5 Mar 2010	5 Aug 2010	SNMG-2
F 494	TCG Gökçeada	5 Aug 2010	15 Oct 2010	CTF-151
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	15 Oct 2010	1 Dec 2010	CTF-151
F 490	TCG Gaziantep	1 Dec 2010	31 Jan 2011	SNMG-2

4th Naval Systems Seminar

2011-01-17T16:20:00.001+02:00

4th Naval Systems Seminar will be performed under the auspices of Under secretary for Defence Industries between 17th and 18th of October 2011 at ODTÜ – KKM (METU CCC) for two days.

Sessions will cover the Naval Platforms (Ship and Machinery) and the Naval Systems (Weapon & Electronics)

The naval systems seminarhas started as a one day event, three years ago. The aim was to bringthe ship building industry, Turkish Navy and the procurement agencytogether to exchange ideas. Last the event has spread on two days andmore than 850 attended.

My Impressions From 3.Naval Systems Seminar (Part 1)

My Impressions From 3.Naval Systems Seminar (Part 2)

TCG Gaziantep's Guard Duty Of MV Leopard Ends

2011-01-17T14:23:00.001+02:00

TCG Gaziantep shadowing MV Leopard
Photo: NATO

According to Turkish General Staff, on 16 January 2010, TCG Gaziantep handed over theresponsibility of guarding and escorting MV Leopard to Italian frigate ITS Zeffiro.

MV Leopard was attacked by sea pirates 200 miles off the coast of Oman, after her security team has disembarked and the crew was taken as hostages. But unlike the previous hijackings the crew was transferred from MV Leopard to the pirate mother ship. But before being taken hostage the crew was able to disable the main engines.

MV Leopard was found by Turkishfrigate TCG Gaziantep, drifting abandoned in the ocean.

If I am interpreting this announcement correctly the tugs hired by the owner of MV Leopard Shipcraft A/S have not arrived yet, so the abandoned merchant ship must be still guarded.

Official NATO Statement On M/V Leopard's Hijacking

2011-01-15T10:59:00.000+02:00

TCG Gaziantep shadowing M/V Leopard
Photo: NATO

Turkish warship TCG Gaziantep - part of the NATO’s counter piracy mission, Operation Ocean Shield, boarded and searched Motor Vessel (MV) Leopard after it had been attacked by armed pirates.

In the afternoon of January 12th MV Leopard was attacked by two pirate skiffs. As the pirates fired small calibre weapons, the crew retreated to a secure area in the ship known as a ‘citadel’.

A Japanese maritime patrol aircraft soon arrived at the scene and established communications with the crew. In a short message the master of MV Leopard informed the Japanese aircraft that armed pirates were on board. In the meantime TCG Gaziantep, who was about 250 nautical miles away, was tasked to steam to the position of MV Leopard.

As TCG Gaziantep approached the area, her helicopter over flew MV Leopard, however, there was no sign of the crew or the pirates on board. The Turkish boarding team subsequently searched the ship and it became clear that the pirates had left, and, having taken the 6 man crew with them, boarded a pirate ‘mother ship’.

The crew of the NATO warship is now guarding MV Leopard, ensuring it remains navigationally safe, whilst arrangements are being made to transport it back to port.

Click here to read the original text. Click here for the Turkish General Staff's oficial statement.

Update: Turkish Naval Commandoes On Board of M/V Leopard

2011-01-14T17:16:00.001+02:00

Turkish special forces boarding Leopard.
Photo: Genelkurmay Başkanlığı

According to a new press release from Turkish General Staff, the boarding team on board of M/V Leopard finished its throughout search for the crew without finding them.

Meanwhile the owners of the M/V Leopard contacted NATO Standing Naval Task Group SNMG-2/CTF-508 and informed that the pirates contacted them, and confirmed the fact that all the crew of M/V Leopard, 2 Danes and 4 Filipinos, were kidnapped.

TCG Gaziantep is ordered to remain in the vicinity of the merchant ship until tugs hired by Leopard's owner will arrive and start towing her.

Click here for the first press release.

Turkish Naval Commandoes On Board of M/V Leopard

2011-01-14T11:13:00.005+02:00

Leopard and TCG Gaziantep
Photo: Genelkurmay Başkanlığı

According to Turkish General Staff's announcement, on 13 January 2010, Danish-flagged cargo ship M/V Leopard, called on the radio for help, stating she had been attacked by sea pirates. Subsequently the contact to the ship was lost. The ship was 200 miles off the coast of Oman at that time.

NATO's Standing Naval Task Group Commander (SNMG-2/CTF-508) in the region, assigned TCG Gaziantep, which was the closest ship to the distressed M/V Leopard, to help the merchant ship.

Reaching the position of the ship at noon, TCG Gaziantep realized after sea and aerial reconnaissance, that M/V Leopard's engines were silent and there was no trace of any human action on board.

The commander of TCG Gaziantep, asked for permission to be allowed to board the merchant ship, and he was authorized to do so, at 16:00 (18:00 local time)

Turkish naval special forces teams boarded M/V Leopard at night, under the cover of darkness and took the control of the ship. The search on board of the M/V Leopard is continuing.

Click here for update on story.

Maritime Accidents On The Bosphorus

2011-01-13T17:10:00.000+02:00

The web site istanbul-pedia.com has complied the worst maritime accidents happened in Bosphorus.

It is a gruesome list. Click Maritime Accidents on the Bosphorus to read.

Some information on about more recent accidents:

Ro/Ro Ella J

M/V Poseidon V

M/V Oruç Reis (Papur)

M/V Josco Nanjing

UK - Turkey: Naval Industry Inward Mission (Part 2)

2011-01-11T11:11:00.002+02:00

So what about the future?

What can be expect from the up coming event promoting business to business relations between Turkey UK?

One currently ongoing defence project is procurement of Sea Sentor reactive soft-kill torpedo defence system from UK company Ultra for Milgem class. Ultra, with its Turkish partner Koç Bilgi ve Savunma Teknolojileri is developing a torpedo counter measure system for Turkish Type 214 class submarines.

It is a known fact that BAE Systems Surface Ships, is very much interested in selling Type 45 air defense ship as whole or its components for the TF-2000 project. During the 3. Naval Systems Seminar, BAE SSS made one presentation about Type 45 destroyer. The presentation was dull and the presenter was unimpressive, so that I got the feeling that BAE Systems was not interesting in promoting their ships at that time. Later they did some spin doctoring for damage control. This shows that they mean business.

Thales Naval Electronic Warfare (ex Marconi) offer their Sealion ESM system for the mid life modernization project of Ay class (Type 209/1100) class submarines. Currently four of six submarines use the older generation DR 2000 ESM system from the same company.

Rolls-Royce is interest in supplying the main propulsion systems for the TF-2000 project independent from BAE systems bid.

A safe bet for a possible cooperation would be the LPD project. I believe that this project will receive green light towards the end of 2011 and Brits are in the game. Royal Navy participated to Egemen 2009 amphibious exercise, which can be regarded as a show case of various amphibious ships, with Ocean class LPH, Albion class LPD and Bay class LSD.

With the recently announced reductions in the Royal Navy, Britain can offer a buy one new and get one used for free/at reduced price type deal in Turkey's LPD project.

I do not see much prospect of cooperation in different class of warships such as submarines, fast attack craft, mine hunters etc. expect for very specialized sub systems, sensors or weapons. The prize projects for UK companies are without the doubt TF-200 air defence frigate and docked amphibious ship. Whether UK companies can succeed in penetrating into a market they have long neglected and a market that has shrunk is size remains a major question mark.

Click for Part 1

UK - Turkey: Naval Industry Inward Mission (Part 1)

2011-01-10T23:23:00.000+02:00

In February, UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) will entertain its guest from Turkish maritime industry in a invitation only gathering. This is a clear and unmistakable sign of growing interest of British defence companies in Turkish naval projects

It was about time as the existence of British involvement in Turkey's naval projects have been very limited until know.

Why?

I am personally a believer and follower of the phrase “Nations do not have permanent allies of enemies only permanent interests.” However in reality, some times the cold calculations of rationality are obstructed by historical events. And the relations between Britain and Turkey regarding naval matters was always very rocky.

My theory why British defence companies have failed to win any contracts for Turkish Naval projects is that Turkish Navy has never forgot the “back stabbing” by British when two Ottoman dreadnoughts Reşadiye and Sultan Osman I that had been ordered by the Ottoman government, were not handed over despite the fact that they had both been completed in 1914. They become HMS Erin and HMS Agincourt

They were not the only ships. In 1938 Turkey ordered four submarines and four destroyers from Britain. As Second World War started before the deliveries, only two of the submarines were delivered during war. The destroyers were handed over in 1946.

Since then the working relations between two navies was always professional and courteous by Royal Navy did never enjoyed the attention US navy enjoyed.

And since 1945, UK companies never won any significant contracts from Turkish Navy. The most important recent defence procurement from UK were Mk 24 Mod.2 Tigerfish torpedoes for Preveze class submarines and Sea Skua anti-ship missiles for AB-212 ASW helicopters. Both were completed in 1990's.

The Tigerfish caused for a big excitement in Deniz Kurdu 2001 naval exercise, when a Mk24 Mod.2 fired from TCG 18 Mart submarine to a decommissioned ship veered from its course 3000 yards short of its target. The frigates carrying high ranking officials and visitors scrambled away from the path of the run away torpedo. And the Sea Skua missiles may have passed their shelf life already. So both projects were not an stellar example of sucess.

Submarine News Around The Region

2011-01-10T12:15:00.001+02:00

As I go trough the backlogof stories accumulated while I had no PC, I found these two news of special interest:

Zaporizhzhya with engines running.
Photo: e-Crimea

The work on Zaporizhzhya: Zaporizhzhya is Ukraine's sole Foxtrot class (Project 641) submarine. She has entered into overhaul in February 2010. She is being overhoauled in 13th Repair Unit with Russian help.

According to Ukrainian website e-Crimea, the diesel engines of the submarine were tested. Ukraine schedules to end static tests by 15 February 2011 and start sea trials. The submarine is expected to return to active duty after completing her sea trials in May 2011.

Papanikolis in active service: On 22 December 2010, the first Type 214 submarine of Greek Navy, HS Papanikolis entered into active fleet. She was commissioned in 3 November 2010, after a unique and long history of procurement

Papanikolis in Kiel, a 2009 photo.
For years Hellenic Navy refused to accept HS Papanikolis claiming the boat was not meeting the requirements. Poor performance from the AIP system, problems with the ISUS combat system, poor surface sea keeping in high seas, and hydraulic system issues were among the major flaws reported. And these flaws were mentioned again and again in printed in internet media to such extend that today it is very difficult (may be impossible) to convince the Greek people that theses flaws were remedied by the Germans.

According to Greek blog Strategy Report the Greek Defence minister made the following statement:
"From 2006 until today, yet the public is poisoned with myths and rumors. This submarine is part of today in power in the country is the "submarine tilted", the "floating coffin", the "submarine with fins. It should really be ashamed of those who cultivate this systematic undermining of a public asset and a strategic, I would say more precisely, the operational advantage of the National Armed Forces. [Grammer, wording and syntax of Google Translate]
And the Greek Navy found it neccessary to make the following statement to malicious reports:
" From the Navy General Staff announced that a day before the ceremony admitting the submarine "Papanikolis" the fleet, after the ship for more than two months sailed by controlling all the means available under extreme weather conditions, from the Norwegian Sea at Kiel and thence across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean to Greece, some circles make a last attempt to undermine and discredit the most modern and well ship the Greek Navy. The mythology, however, "on the submarine tilted" denied in the most solemn manner.The Navy further states categorically that the "current story" of journalistic [notorious] defencenet.gr page is not accurate and has no "source" within the Navy (as in the original version said), nor was any attempt to cross before the posted Internet. [Grammer, wording and syntax of Google Translate]
By the way, Papanikolis may be the most modern submarine in the region but she still lack an adequate punch.

A Small Naval Review of 2010

2011-01-09T22:20:00.000+02:00

As one year ends and the new one starts, the temptation to make lists about various subjects becomes almost irresistible. So I followed the urge in me and made this 5 point list about the most important events for Turkish Navy in 2010:

The Sea Trials of TCG Heybeliada: The first ship of the Milgem class F-511 TCG Heybeliada stared her sea trails 26 months after her launching. These test also marked an important milestone of the overall project. For the first time a indigenous designed and built warship sailed. TCG Heybeliada is scheduled for the official commissioning in Turkish Navy this year.

Turkish Naval Task Force: For the first time in the recent history Turkish Navy formed a Task Force and have it sailed in the Mediterranean Sea for 2 months. During its existence the task force made 10 port visits in 8 different countries and joint exercise with various navies. Turkish Navy intents to create another task force in 2011. This task force will sail in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and in adjunct seas and conduct port visits and other maritime duties.

The Second Command of CTF-151: Between September and December 2010, Turkish Navy was in command of CTF-151 for a second term. CTF-151 is a multinational TF organized by US Navy. Its main mission is to provide security for merchant ships in Gulf of Aden against Somali pirates and to conduct interdiction operations against established pirate skiffs and motherships. One of the highlights during this period was the boarding made by US Marines to the M/V Magellan Star while the pirates were still on board. After a brief operations the pirates were comprehended white the crew of the ship was hiding in a safe room.

The Sledgehammer: Sledgehammer is the name of an alleged Turkish secularist military coup plan which reportedly dates back to 2003. The trial for the criminal case has just started in 16 December 2010. But during the whole 2010 there were a number of arrest during the investigation for the case. In February 2010, 95 people were detained. 86 of these were military personnel, 70 of them in active duty including 4 admirals. I personally believe that the whole case is a text book McCarthyism. Though no one has proven guilty yet it has already hurt lives and careers of many. And most importantly it has created enough diversion and distracted all services from their primary duty of national defense as many of the top brass was busy with their personal self defense.

The never ending wrestling at the Aegean: Despite the mutual visits of high ranking politicans and military personel, the constant wrestling in the Aegean continues as ever. Last year movements of Turkish warships in Aegean found a bigger than usual coverage in Greek media. The movements of Turkish warships were accused of breaching the rules of innocent passage. And usually the opposition media blamed the Greek government of being to subversive. The Turkish side insisted that the movements of the warships should be regarded within the definition of transit passage. Although the relations between the two countries seems to be better than it was a decade ago the fundamental problems still linger around.

Turkish ASW Plane Spotted In Malta

2011-01-07T01:04:00.001+02:00

According to Air Forces Monthly magazine, Turkish Navy CN-235 MPA plane, TCB-652, now with French test registration was photographed visiting Malta, back in November 2010.

Two years after the first flight of the aircraft the tests are still continuing.

The ASW plane acquisition project (also known as Meltem project) of Turkish Navy is a very long saga and consist of 3 parts:

Meltem (I): purchase of three CN-235's for Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance missions by the Turkish Coast Guard and six CN-235's in AsuW and ASW missions. This has been the only part completed so far.

Meltem (II): integration of AMASOC and its sub components on the above mentioned planes. Thales made AMASCOS(Airborne MAritime Situation and COntrol System) was selected and the main C3I system for the above mentioned CN-235 planes back in 2002. Thales acts as the main contractor and Turkish companies TAI, Havelsan, Aselsan and Milsoft are acting as sub contractors. According to the contract the planes were to be in service in 2007. But the first modified plane made its maiden flight one year after the contractual delivery date.

Meltem (III): purchase of ten ATR-72 ASW planes and integration of AMASCOS on to them. For Meltem (III) Aleina is the prime contractor.

Turkish Airforce operates 50 CN-235 planes for troop and VIP transport, SIGINT/ELINT and CSAR missions. When this plane was chosen for the Meltem (I) project this decision was criticised.

The critics stated that CN-235 was not able to fulfill the operational demands of Turkish Navy as her performance was not up to this demands. When ATR-72 ASW plane was chosen from Meltem (III) the claims of the opponents seemed to be right.

Turkish Navy retired its last Grumman S-2E Tracker ASW planes 16 years ago and urgently needs patrol planes for maritime surveillance, monitoring territorial Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters, for detecting all forms of illicit trade and trafficking, accidental pollution and oil dumping, and for search-and-rescue operations.

Notice To Mariners

2011-01-03T21:53:00.000+02:00

My HDD has crashed on new year's eve. I am not sure if this is a good or bad omen. I am currently trying to patch my PC back together. I hope to be back online this week.

New Photo Of TCSG Dost

2010-12-28T18:04:00.000+02:00

The new patrol ship of Turkish Coast Guard, SG-701 TCSG Dost is being fitted at the pier of the RMK Shipyard, where she was build.

It is reported that she will start her sea trials in a few days may be even before the new year. The second ship of this class, SG-702 TCSG Güven was launched on 17th December 2010.

Look What The Net Dragged In

2010-12-28T15:53:00.001+02:00

Last week a fishing boat operating of the coast of Hopa, Artvin found this in its net.

The 150 kilo, British made mine was tangled in the net as the fishermen were collecting the net. They have placed the mine on the deck of their boat and returned to the harbor.

The local security forces summoned an underwater EOD team from Istanbul to inspected the mine. Later it was taken to military shooting range where it was destroyed by demolition charges.

Every year a couple of sea mines are found and destroyed in Turkey. This year alone in two different occasions a mine was found in Didim, and Karasu.

Click here for more photos.

UNIFIL Maritime Task Force

2010-12-23T10:49:00.000+02:00

The composition of UNIFIL Maritime Task Force as 23 December 2010:

Pennant	Ship	County	Type
F-240	TCG Fatih	Turkey	Frigate
F-18	BNS Osman	Bangladesh	Frigate
P-911	BNS Madhumati	Bangladesh	Patrol Craft
A-516	FGS Donau	Germany	Tender
M-1093	FGS Auerbach	Germany	Minehunter
P-6130	FGS Hyaene	Germany	Fast Attack Craft
P-26	HS Degiannis	Greece	Fast Attack Craft
P-266	HS Machitis	Greece	Patrol Craft
368	KRI Frans Kaisiepo	Indonesia	Corvette

Modernization Project For Atılay Class Submarines Approved

2010-12-20T01:20:00.001+02:00

On their latest meeting on 18th December 2010, Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSIK) decided to start contract negotiations with STM for the upgrade of Type 209 Atılay class submarines.

According to the latest modernization project for the Type 209, Atılay Class submarines, the oldest two boats will be decommissioned as soon as the first Type 214 submarines enter into fleet.

The periscope, ESM / ECM and communication system of the existing boats will be upgraded. In order to keep costs down a modern purpose built Underwater Command and Control System integration is not planned in the project. These old boats are going to get some might punch though. It is planned to modify four of the torpedo tubes so that they can use Mk48 ADCAP Mod6 AT heavy weight torpedoes.

On the same meeting SSIK also decided to start an acquisition project of 600 tonnes vessels for Turkish Coast Guard. These vessels will be used for extended patrols in adverse sea conditions. There are no details about these vessels yet.

This is the third meeting of the SSIK in 2010.

In the first meeting in January it was decided to start contract negotiations for constructions of 2 LST’s.

In the second meeeting in June, it was decided to start contract negotiations for construction of submarine rescue ship (MOSHIP) and two rescue and towing ships (RATSHIP) with Istanbul Shipyard.

A Busy Day For Coast Guard

2010-12-18T21:10:00.001+02:00

M/V Sea Bright aground in Antalya.

Yesterady, the continuing storms in Mediterranean Sea casued two ships to run aground in Antalya.

The first was Bolivian flagged M/V Sea Bright en route from Tarsus port in Adana to Egypt. She had 18 people on board when she was driven into the rocks by the sea in Antalya town. 17 were rescued but the cook is still missing.

This is the video of the rescue operations for M/V Sea Bright, from The Telegraph.

The second ship that run aground was Bolivian flagged M/V Rand. She was driven into the rocks in Adrasan Bay, Kemer, Antalya. The crew of 9 was rescued by Coast Guard helicopter.

This is the official Turkish Coast Guard video

Hürriyet Video'larını izlemek için Flash 7 veya daha yüksek eklenti yüklenmeniz gerekmektedir. Yüklemek için tıklayınız!!!

And this a map showing the approximate locations of the two shipwrecks.

A New Frigate For The Russian Black Sea Fleet

2010-12-18T13:32:00.000+02:00

According to RIA Novosti, the construction of a Project 11356 Class frigate destined for the Russian Black Sea Fleet will start today at the Yantar Shipyard in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.

Yantar won a tender to build three Project 11356 frigates in October. The Black Sea Fleet chief earlier told RIA Novosti the construction would begin in January 2011.

The frigate, with a displacement of 4,000 tons, will be equipped with a 100-mm gun, a Shtil surface-to-air missile system, two Kashtan air-defense gun/missile systems, two twin 533-mm torpedo launchers, and an anti-submarine warfare helicopter.

The Russian Navy chief, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, earlier said one or two Project 11356 frigates will join the Black Sea Fleet every year starting 2013.

There must a change of the plans at the Russian Naval HQ in the last few weeks. Previously it was reported that Russian Black Sea Fleet would receive six Admiral Gorshkov class (Project 22350) frigates, six Lada (Project 677) diesel submarines, two Ivan Gren class (Project 11711) large landing ships, four ships of other projects, modernized bombers Su-24M instead of obsolete versions, and ASW aircrafts, Il-38 instead of amphibious aircrafts Be-12 till 2020.

There were rumors that Russians were not very happy with the progress of the Admiral Gorshkov class. This might be one of the reasons why BSF is getting the Project 11356 class frigates (also better known as Talwar class), instead of Admiral Gorshokov's. The fact that the Talwar is a proven and successfully build design might have contributed to the change too.

Specifications	Project 11365	Milgem
Displacement (tons)	4035	2000
Length (m)	124,80	99,00
Beam (m)	15,20	14,40
Draught (m)	4,20	3,60
Machinery	2 shaft gas turbines, 57,000 hp	2 shaft, diesels, gas turbine, 32,250 hp
Speed (knots)	32	29
Range (nm)	4500 (@18kts)	3500 (@15 kts)
Complement	180	93
Helicopter	1	1
Armament	Project 11365	Milgem
Antiship Missile	8 x SS-N-27	8 x Harpoon
Gun	1 x 100mm	1 x 76mm
Antiaircraft Missile	24 x SA-N-7	21 x RIM 116
Torpedo Tubes	4 x 533 mm	4 x 324 mm

When we compare the Project 11356 with Milgem, we see that both ships have similar capabilities in armament, though the ships are in different types and have considerable difference in dimensions.

One other important similarity is that both ships are designed with incorporated stealth features.

If everything goes as Russians have planned we will see modern warships in the Black Sea Fleet in the comming years.

I have expressed my personal opinion of the news about the rejuvenation of the BSF previously here, here, here and here.

On a related news however the Yantar Shipyard, the one that builds the Indian and Russian Project 11356 frigates asked for additional $100 million for completion of three frigates built by the yard for $1.6 bln under Indian Navy's order, and asked to postpone deadline of the contract execution.

This is definitely not a good omen.

Hat tip: Kobus.

TCG Güven Launched

2010-12-18T11:57:00.001+02:00

SG-702 TCSG Güven
Photo: www.denizhaber.com.tr

Yesterday, the second search and rescue ship for the Turkish Coast Guard Command SG-702 TCSG Güven was launched at RMK Marine Shipyard, Istanbul.

The first ship of the class, TCSG Dost, was launched in June 2010. She is currently being fitted aout at the same shipyard. She will begin with her HAT and SAT tests next week.

TCSG Güven is the second ship of the four ship programme that will supply Turkish Coast Guard with vessels, that can operate in sea state 5 and higher

These will be the first vessels operated by Turkish Coast Guard that can support helicopter operations.

SG-702 TCSG Güven
Photo: www.denizhaber.com.tr

The backbone of Turkish Coast Guard is made of MRTP class fast interceptors and patrol craft. These boat have excellent speed and maneuverability but they do not have the range or helicopter support facilities required for mission with long range or long duration.

Based on Italian Commandante-Siro class, the ships have a displacement of 1,700 tons. Main features of the vessels: length 88.40 metres, breadth 12.20 metres, maximum speed 22 knots, range 3,000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots.

These ships are the largest vessel Turkish Coast Guard, the future Border Police will operate.

TCSG-312 Upgraded With A STAMP

2010-12-14T00:58:00.000+02:00

TCSG-312 with a new STAMP

Turkish Coast Guard craft TCSG-312 seems to have a brand new STAMP installed.

STAMP is a remote-controlled Stabilized Machine Gun Platform developed by Turkish defense contractor ASELSAN.

This fast response boat locally know as MRTP-33 class, was designed and build by Turkish Yonca-Onuk shipyard. Although there are 13 similar boats in service. Previously only one of them TCSG-307 had a STAMP installed.

When commissioned in October 2008, TCSG-312 was armed with a 20 mm manually aimed automatic gun like the rest of her class. Today's photo show that she has received a STAMP with (probably) a 12,7mm machine gun installed. The MRTP class boats can make 75 knots on calm seas and up to 60 knots on 3 sea force. It is impossible for anybody to stand on board leave alone operating a gun. The STAMP was developed out of this neeed.

STAMP on Georgian patrol boat Sokhumi

Though made by a Turkish company the introduction of STAMP and STOP (Stabilised Gun Platform) into armed forces has been initially slow.
STAMP was exported to Georgia on board of a MRTP-33.

Two STAMP's are installed on board of Milgem Class F-511 TCG Heybeliada and following ships as close-in weapon system.

Two STAMPS are installed on P-1200 class New Type Patrol Boats against asymmetrical threats.

Turkish Boats For Romanian Border Police Delivered

2010-12-13T08:44:00.002+02:00

The five river partrol boats of SNR-17 class, constructed for Romanian Border Police were delivered last week.

Istanbul Shipyard (not to be mixed with Istanbul Naval Shipyard) was seleced by Romania to supply the boats back in January 2010. The total value of the project is estimated to be around 7,5 million euros.

The boats are equipped among standard navigation and mission devices with a FLIR system for night navigation, a portable Geiger counter, and explosives sensor.

Two of the boats will be stationed on Ukrainian, one on Moldavian, one on Hungarian and one on Serbian border.

Specifications:
Full length: 17,26 meters
Beam: 4,55 meters
Draft: 1,00 meter
Maximum speed: 25 knots

Here is a video about the boat from TRT, and here is one form the builder.

Although the scope of this project is not very big, these boats are the first Turkish exports to an European law enforcement agency. That is why this project is an important mile stone in Turkish naval shipbuild industry.

A Maritime Security Center of Excellence Being Established For Turkey

2010-12-12T23:37:00.000+02:00

A protocol was signed between Turkish General Staff, Department of Strategy and Undersecretariat of Maritime Affairs for the establishment of Maritime Security Center of Excellence. (MSCoE)

According to the protocol the aim of the MSCoE is to create synchronization among all real or legal entities that contribute to maritime security.

Turkish General Staff, Turkish Navy, Turkish Coast Guard, National Police will constitute the executive board during the establishment period.

MSCoE will develop projects and provide decision making support about maritime security, maritime domain awareness, marine technologies, early warning issues.

The decision to create a Center of Excellence for Maritime Security issues is a major development. It is a clear and obvious sign that

Turkey

like many other maritime nations is focusing to the maritime domain and the opportunities and dangers its hiding. It will take time for the MSCoE to establish itself as an accepted institution for maritime affairs but if it works as planed it can add much value to the over Turkish maritime policies.

Seaforth World Naval Review 2011

2010-12-10T17:01:00.000+02:00

The 2011 edition of Seaforth World Naval Review has been published.

Though it was launched just 3 years ago, it has established a good reputation among enthusiast, researchers and students of maritime issues.

For the first time, this edition has an 8 page chapter devoted to the current operations and ship acquisition projects of Turkish Navy and it was written by yours truly.

I am very exited to see my name to be listed as a contributor among some of the most influent and prolific writers on naval subjects such as Norman Friedman, Scott Truver, Mrityunjoy Mazumdar and Conrad Waters.

My contract with the publisher forbids me to publicize what I have written, here in my blog. But I can mention the highlights:

‘G’ Class Frigate Modernisation
The Milgem Corvette Project
Coastal Patrol Boats
Coast Guard Search And Rescue Ships
Aip-Equipped Submarines
Amphibious Ship Acquisitions

I have enjoyed writing about Turkish Navy for Seaforth NRW very much, so I hope you will enjoy reading it.

The book can be bought from amazon.com or directly from Seaforth Publishing.

Wikileaks And Turkish Navy

2010-12-06T19:10:00.000+02:00

When every important institution was some how effected by these cable it would be foolish to assume that Turkish Navy would be left out.

According to one cable send by US Ambassador MR. Tafft from Kyiv the former Ukrainian President Mr. Kuchma thinks that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is not a match against the Turkish Navy.

8. (C) Kuchma downplayed the strategic importance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF), saying it could dispatch a ship to scare Georgia, but would be no match for the Turkish fleet. Since Ukraine must now pay the "world price" for gas, said Kuchma mischievously, Ukraine should insist that Russia pay the "world price" (i.e., "what the Americans have to pay for bases") to homeport its BSF in Sevastopol. The question of Sevastopol is above all an emotional/nostalgia issue for Russians ("the city of Russian glory"), and they will never quit hoping to get it back. Kuchma said he once told Moscow Mayor Luzhkov that Ukraine would agree to return Sevastopol to Russia -- provided the U.S. returned Alaska to Russia, and Russia returned the Kurile Islands. to Japan and Kaliningrad to Germany.

Well this more or less a just a statement of the obvious. The Russian Black Sea Fleet as is inferior to Turkish Navy but combined with other Fleets Russian Navy is still a very worthy advisory that Turkey would not want to confront. Especially, when we are buying so much natural gas from them.

The alleged cable is tagged as following and is here to read.:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 000190 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2020 TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ENRG, MARR, UP, RS SUBJECT: FORMER PRESIDENT KUCHMA ON UKRAINIAN ELECTION, FOREIGN POLICY

But I was not able to find it among the other cables in cablesearch.org. So for me this is still unconfirmed.

USS Ross In Istanbul

2010-12-06T00:49:00.000+02:00

USS Ross, in Istanbul.

Arleigh Burke class destroyer DDG-71 USS Ross is in Istanbul, for a 3 day long port visit.

The ship is docked to the commercial port of Istanbul on Friday and will leave the town tomorrow.

She was been deployed in the Mediterranean for the last 7 months. And according to news reports she will return to USA after leaving Istanbul.

USS Ross will be upgraded during fiscal 2012 to RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) capability in order to function as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System.

International Staff Of CTF-151

2010-12-02T22:39:00.000+02:00

RADM Ertuğrul, the previous commander of CTF-151
and his flag staff

This is from the US 5th Fleet CMF web site and show the international nature of the anti piracy forces very well.

For the past three months the Turkish Navy was at the helm of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151), the multi-national counter-piracy mission of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

A small but dedicated team of international naval personnel was embarked aboard the flagship TCG Gaziantep to join task force commander Rear Admiral Sinan Ertugrul and his command staff, the majority of whom were drawn from the Turkish Navy, with the more senior officers having attended the prestigious naval college in Istanbul.

“The flag staff are essentially a floating headquarters,” said Captain Rafet Oktar, the CTF-151 Chief of Staff charged with bringing together the various command and control functions. “We coordinate the various elements of the task force such as ships and aircraft, we plan current and future operations and we provide specialist advice to the Commander.”

...

RADM Ertugrul said “I was proud to lead an international staff, at the head of an international task force, patrolling international waters. CTF-151 is effective as a force for good in the region precisely because of our mutual understanding, cooperation and shared commitment to tackling the serious problem of piracy.

“My international staff added to the diversity of my command team through the backgrounds, experience and abilities they each brought with them. In turn, it was also an opportunity them to hone their skills further through cooperation with my Turkish staff.”

Click here for the whole text.

Obviously Turkish Navy is benefiting from taking part in anti piracy operations in many ways:

First and foremost Turkish Navy is offering protection and comfort to the Turkish ships and crews passing through the regions.
Turkish Navy is gaining know-how on commanding multinational staffed task forces that operate away from the home waters in.
Turkish Navy is fulfilling its share in international naval operations thus showing other nations that it is a serious partner in such cases and developing bilateral cooperation.

Pakistan Assumes Command Of CTF-151

2010-11-29T23:16:00.000+02:00

Photo from CMF

Today, with a ceremony on board of Royal Navy warship HMS Cornwall in UAE, Pakistan Navy Cdre. Abdul Aleem assumed the command of CTF-151, from Turkish Navy Rear Adm. Sinan Ertugrul.

This is the first time that Pakistan will lead CTF-151. Pakistan regularly contributes warships to CTF-150 and assumed the command of that task force several times.

"Given the importance of this region to international trade and the world economy, it could be argued that the problem of piracy has the potential to affect every individual on the planet," said Rear Adm. Ertugrul, reflecting on his three months in command. Consequently, during my period of command it has been clear to me that international cooperation must underpin everything we do.

Ertuğrul stressed the constant awareness joint Naval forces must have to continue to be successful in their counterpiracy mission.

"Those who seek to commit piracy at sea have shown themselves to be resourceful and flexible, modifying their behavior as we frustrate their tactics," he said. "Naval forces must therefore remain astute and adaptable. However, the pirates should know this -- we are here to stay as long as is necessary."

Currently, Australia, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the U.K. and U.S.
have warships in CFT-151.

USS Gonzales Is In The Black Sea

2010-11-29T01:30:00.001+02:00

Arleigh Burke class US Navy destroyer DDG-66 USS Gonzales passed through the Dardanelles on 28 November 2010.

Haberajans.com is the source of the video above.

USS Gonzales can stay 21 days in the Black Sea as Montreux Convention dictates. According to news reports she entered the straits at around 14:00 and ended her transit after 90 minutes. She was escorted by Turkish Coast Guard Boat TCSG-84 during her voyage.

NATO's Comments On Mavi Balina 2010

2010-11-28T23:56:00.003+02:00

SNMG-2 in formation. Official NATO photo.

NATO released her version of exercise Mavi Balina 2010.

Antalya, Turkey. From 1 to 11 November the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2(SNMG2) took part in the Turkish exercise MAVI BALINA. This annual exercise aims to train units and staff in planning and conducting anti submarine warfare and submarine warfare and support their preparations for real world operations. During the 11 day period many assets were available for the exercise. Several submarines, airplanes and over 12 surface vessels from 6 different nations contributed to the success of the exercise.

SNMG2, commanded by Commodore Michiel B. Hijmans (Royal Netherlands Navy), formed one of the four task groups, providing the Turkish staff in charge of the exercise with a challenging and complex environment for their planning and command training.

After many hours of escorting ships through hostile waters and keeping the adversaries at bay, most of the units entered Antalya harbour for the final phase of the exercise. After the port visit SNMG2 will continue her efforts for Operation Active Endeavour during an East Mediterranean surge.

More On The Attack To M/V 26 Ağustos

2010-11-28T17:59:00.000+02:00

The location of the attack according to Turkish General Staff

Turkish General Staff made an official declaration about the pirate attack to M/V 26 Ağustos.

The Turkish flagged M/V 26 Ağustos, operated by Nemtaş Shipping Corporation was attacked by sea pirates in Gulf of Aden while proceeding to Bangladesh.

The shipping company informed the attack to the Turkish Navy Operations Center. As a result of telephone contact with the ship it was reported that the crew was able to hide inside a safe room in the ships engine room during the attack. The Navy Operations Center informed the crew about further safety precautions to be taken.

The incident was immediately forwarded to the CTF-151, commanded by a Turkish Admiral and the nearest CTF-151 warship to M/V 26 Ağustos, USS Shoup was dispatched to the attacked ship.

The pirates left M/V 26 Ağustos when they cannot get the ship to their control, and the skiff, believed belonging to the pirates were suppressed by fire opened from the helicopter of USS Shoup and at the end the skiffs were driven away.

During the night USS Shoup maintained VHF communication with the crew of the ship still inside the safe room to ensure that there are no pirates remaining on board.

On 28 November 2010, at 08:30 hours, by the order giving from CTF-151, a security team from USS Shoup, boarded the M/V 26 Ağustos to secure the control of the ship and to protect the crew leaving the safe room, thus the control of M/V 26 Ağustos was established.

Turkish Bulker 26 Ağustos Attacked By Pirates

2010-11-28T02:19:00.000+02:00

Turkish flaged bulker M/V 26 Ağustos was attacked by Somali pirates on 27 November 2010. The ship operated by Nemtaş Shipping company, was 200 nm east of Socotra islands when she was attacked.

Following the established best management practices, the crew send and emergency signal and locked themselves in a safe room.

An unnamed US Navy warship was dispatched to help the Turkish ship. The pirates who were on board left the ship when they were unable to reach the crew.

According to owner company, currently the US Navy warship is in the vicinity of M/V 26 Ağustos. She will proceed to her destination as soon as the paper word and other formalities about the unsuccessful attack are completed.

Ship photo by Wil Weijsters from Shipspotting.com and used in accord with that site's terms.

Pakistan to Command CTF-151

2010-11-26T01:40:00.004+02:00

TCG Gaziantep, escorting M/V Front Alfa (U.S. Navy photo)

Turkey will transfer the command of CTF-151 to Pakistan on 29 November 2010.

There will be a ceremony on board F-99 HMS Cornwall at Fujairah Port, UAE.

Currently CTF-151 is commanded by vice Admiral Sinan Ertuğrul and his flagship is F-490 TCG Gaziantep

UPDATE: I would appreciate any information about the Pakistani warship that will take part in CTF-151 and will serve as the flagship.

USS Vella Gulf In Kuşadası

2010-11-24T21:18:00.000+02:00

USS Vella Gulf in Kuşadası

Ticonderoga class cruiser, CG-72 USS Vella Gulf arrived for a 4 day port visit in Kuşadası Turkey.

According to news reports Turkish Coast Guard provides extra security around the ship during her stay.

The commander of the ship made the inevitable courtesy visit to the Mayor of Kuşadası and exchanged presents.

USS Vella Gulf, is one of five Atlantic-based ships equipped with the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system and is the first East Coast cruiser to deploy with the BMD system aboard. BMD will be a primary mission for the ship during its current deployment.

Source to the photo.

German Minehunter Bad Rappenau On Nusret 2010 Exercise

2010-11-22T19:00:00.001+02:00

The German 332 class minehunter, M-1067 Bad Rappenau has an interesting webpage where they write about their deployment in SNMCMG 2.

They have shared their experience in the Nusret 2010 invitation mine exercise. Click here to read it.

Chief Of The Hellenic Navy General Staff To Visit Turkey

2010-11-21T23:59:00.000+02:00

Vice Admiral Dimitrios Elefsiniotis, Official Photo

According to Greek blog Strategy Report, the Greek Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios Elefsiniotis will pay an official visit to Turkey from 22 to 27 November 2010, in response to a formal invitation to his Turkish counterpart, Admiral Uğur Yiğit.

Vice Admiral Elefsiniotis will meet the Commander of Turkish Armed Forces General Işık Koşaner, and the Head of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Uğur Yiğit.

Then he will proceed to Istanbul and to İzmir where we will meet with the Commanders of Fleet, Northern Sea Area and Southern Sea Area.

There has been a few high ranking visits from both countries in the last couple of years. It is too early to see if whether these visits will help to improve the relations between the two countries.

I Am Back

2010-11-21T22:56:00.000+02:00

For those who were wondering were I was, I am posting the photos below.

It was a very nice and relaxing holiday.

Milgem Has Started Her Sea Trials

2010-11-12T20:05:00.000+02:00

What a beautiful sight.

The indigenous designed Turkish frigate F-511 TCG Heybeliada has started her sea acceptance tests (SAT) on 2 October 2010 according to Turkish Navy.

For more photos and for a video click here.
Photo source: Turkish Navy

SNMG-2 In Antalya

2010-11-11T01:33:00.000+02:00

The ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 are in Antalya for a well deserved rest, after the ending of the naval exercise Mavi Balina 2010.

The commanders of the ships, made a courtesy visit to the governor of Antalya.

Click here for some photos where you do not see much. The ships will stay in town till the weekend.

More On Nusret 2010 and Mavi Balina 2010 Exercises

2010-11-09T23:12:00.000+02:00

It is a busy week full with exercises.

The Nusret 2010 mine exercise has started and is continuing in the Aegean. On Monday there was a press conference about it.

According to the information shared on this conference the order of battle for the exercise looks like this:

TCG Sokulu Mehmet Paşa

3 mine hunters Engin or Aydın class

1 corvette Burak class

1 rescue ship

1 patrol boat

1 mine recovery boat

1 coast guard vessel

1 C-130 plane

1 helicopter

1 EOD team

Of course the NATO SNMCMG-2 is taking part along with additions from Greece and Bulgaria:

HS Aliakmon A 470 (Flagship)

HS Evniki M 61

TCG Anamur M 269

ITS Numana 5557

SPS Tambre M 33

FGS Bad Rappenau M 1067

BS Priboy M 68
1 Greek mine hunter

The anti submarine exercise Mavi Balina is going on in the east Mediterranean. It was reported that the Greek Navy pulled its frigate away from the exercise in protest of Turkish Air force planes taking part in the exercise.

In the meantime there was a hostage rescue and anti terror exercise in Izmir harbor. According the exercise scenario, the special teams boarded a ship that was hijacked by terrorist and cleared the bombs left by the terrorist. Click for the photos and video.

The End Of The Turkish Coast Guard

2010-11-07T23:27:00.000+02:00

Last week it was reported that there was a notion to abolish the Turkish Coast Guard. Instead of the coast guard a General Directorate of Border Guard will be established.

The law about this new structure has not been opened to discussion in the parliament but news about it already leaked out.

Before we shall go into the details of this new notion we shall examine the current status first. Currently the Coast Guard just like the Gendarmerie is under dual control. As an organization, Coast Guard Command is subordinated, into the staff and organization of the Turkish Armed Forces. But during the peace time Turkish Coast Command is responsible to Ministry of Internal Affairs in terms of assigned duties and operations along the Turkish coastline, and all maritime areas that are under Turkish sovereignty and control in accordance with the national and international laws.

In simpler terms, Turkish Coast Guard is a military organization that almost duplicates the structure of the Turkish Navy but acts as a law enforcement agency during peace times.

The biography of the current Commander shows the Navy connection clearly: Rear Admiral (UH) İzzet Artunç, 13th Commandant of the Turkish Coast Guard Command, was graduated from the Turkish Naval Academy in 1973 with the rank of Ensign. Later he attended the Submarine Officer Specialization Course become a submariner. His last assignment before being the Commander of Coast Guard was as Chief of Logistics in Turkish Naval Forces Command.

The proposal will change the structure of the Coast Guard from a military force to a policing force. The new Border Guard will only be subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs just like the civilian police force. The existing personnel and infrastructure of the CG will be transferred to the new BG organization. The border outposts and frontier troop’s currently under the command of Turkish Army or Gendarmerie will be transferred to this new General Directorate of Border Guard too.

The personnel of the future Border Guard will be educated in police academies instead of the military schools. The names of ranks and the whole promotions and appointments structure will change to reflect to emphasize the civilian side of the new organization.

The new organization will have some powers that Coast Guard does not currently have. The Border Guard will have the right to monitor the communication of suspected without an approval of a judge. The new police force will have the right to obtain, bear and use heavy weapons that are not normally used as standard police weapons such as the 40mm guns on board of the most coast guard vessels.

The proposed a General Directorate of Border Guard will affect the Coast Guard fundamentally. Gendarmerie Command protects the land borders and ensures their security but forther more it is also responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of police forces. These areas cover the most of the rural Turkey. So when the new Border Guard comes into existence the Gendarmerie will give up only a part of its duties. On the other hand the whole 7200 km long sea border of Turkey and is only policed by the Turkish Coast Guard. The General Directorate of Border Guard will cease the existence of the Turkish Coast Guard as we know it.

So why is this change seemed to be necessary?

The main reason is to create a police rather than military force to protect the borders in accordance with the Schengen and EU acquis. The proposed structure of the Border Guard resembles the organisations already existing in Europe.

One other reason is to free the Land Force from border protection duties and focus it on more essential military missions.

It is not clear when the new law notion will be discussed and voted in the parliament. But a timeline for the change of responsibility on the borders has already been made. According to this scheduled the first change of duty will be in 2015 and the last one in 2018. The change of infrastructure and the facilities is planned for 2014. Thus Turkish Coast Guard has four more years left, as we know it.

Nusret 2010 Starts On Saturday

2010-11-04T22:43:00.000+02:00

Apparently November will be a busy month. While Turkish submarines are playing hide and seek with Turkish and SNMG-2 frigates, SNMCMG-2 will be hunting mines with Bulgarian, Greek and Turkish mine hunters.

The annual Nusret naval exercise will be held between 6 and 13 November. The aim of this exercise is to improve anti mine warfare techniques of the participants.

The list of participants is not available yet but according to Bulgarian MOD, M68 BGS Priboy will take part.

USS Providence In Marmaris

2010-11-04T20:22:00.000+02:00

USS Providence. Source: Wikipedia

Los Angeles class attack submarine SSN-719 USS Providence docked in Aksaz Naval Base in Marmaris Turkey, yesterday.

Usually foreign warships visiting Turkey are hosted in the commercial ports for the ease of bringing sailors to the shore and back. But USS Providence is in naval base away from public for increased security, I guess.

It was announced that the visit of the submarine, currently assigned to Submarine Squadron 2 at US Naval Submarine Base New London, Groton, Connecticut, does not have any NATO connection. The submarine is expected to stay in Turkey till Monday.

Most pundits see her visit just before the NATO summit in Lisbon as a "sign".

TCG Gaziantep Meets Lone Turkish Ocean Rower

2010-11-04T01:14:00.002+02:00

This is the kind of story that makes me sentimental and warm in side.

On Monday Turkish frigate TCG Gaziantep rendezvoused with Turkish solo ocean rower Erden Eruç of the coast of Madagascar. He is committed to his human powered journey around the globe.

Mr. Eruç left Australia 110 days ago and was alone since then. The sailors of the frigate were the first people he has seen for a while.

As he was entering the part of the Indian Ocean with high piracy activities, the commander of CTF-151 Rear Admiral Sinan Ertuğrul was personally tracking the progress of Mr. Erden Eruç and exchanging e-mails with him.

The feeling to be greeted and escorted by a Turkish frigate thousand miles away from Turkey and miles away from the nearest shore must be difficult to put in words. Mr. Erden Eruç is in his own words:

Today was the day of rendezvous with the Turkish frigate TCG GAZiANTEP. On board was Rear Admiral Sinan Ertugrul, the present Commander of the Combined Task Force (CCTF) assembled to counter Somali piracy in the area. Observing that my pace had increased considerably, doubled in fact on account of the strong currents under me, he had moved up this rendezvous at sea by a week. He had been kind to write to me personal emails to inform me of piracy activities and security measures. After considering a few options and running them by our team, a joint decision was made on where to attempt my landing while avoiding problem areas.

Now en route to my destination, the CCTF was coming to honor this crossing, to be present on this joyous occasion. He was on a frigate named after my mother's hometown. My mother was born in Kilis near the Syrian border and grew up in Gaziantep. My father met her there. Much of her relatives still live in that area. This was indeed to be a special day.

...

The helicopter ran circles around me, they were taking pictures from above, making me giggle uncontrollably, laugh and hoot and holler. This was turning into a party already!

Reading, stories such as this or this, when a foreign navy escorted and protected a lone compatriot in the vastness of the oceans, made me jealous. I see such gestures as a sign of seamanship. Such gestures a are a bold and loud announcement that, your navy never lets you down, or helps you where ever you are. Turkish Navy did not used to make such statements very often or publicly. It is good to see that this is changing.

I find it personally touching that Rear Admiral Sinan Ertuğrul takes time to personally communicate with a lone ocean rower.

I think that this meeting was a moral booster for all participants. Mr. Eruç knows that even in the dangerous and pirate infected waters of remote Indian Ocean there is a Turkish frigate he can count on if he needs. And the crew of TCG Gaziantep knows that their seemingly endless cruising on the vast oceans is not for nothing and their presence do mean a lot to many really.

Photos from here.
Click here to learn more about Mr. Eruç's adventure.

Finally The End Of An Odyssey: Papanikolis Commissioned

2010-11-03T23:24:00.000+02:00

Without much fanfare or big ceremony, Greek Navy commissioned its first Type 214 class submarine HS Papanikolis, 10 years after they have ordered it and 4 years after she was completed. The boat is expected to start her voyage to Greece in a couple of weeks.

Vice Admiral Dimitrios Elefsiniotis, Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff made the following speech

Your Excellency, Mrs consul, Bishop, Mr chairman, dear distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry if I forgot to mention someone else

It is my great pleasure to be addressing you here today at the commissioning ceremony and the hoisting of the Hellenic flag of Submarine HS Papanikolis, which is the first of the six type 214 submarines, while the rest are being constructed at the Hellenic Shipyards Skaramaga.

Today is a landmark in our effort to upgrade and renew our fleet, a constant and time consuming endeavor which, on days like today, is full of joy and satisfaction not only for the Hellenic navy's personnel but also for the Greek people who watch their financial sacrifices being fully utilized, especially during such a difficult period of my country.

With the arrival of this submarine, a circle of events reaches its end, which during the last years, were characterized by difficult and tough negotiations, leading eventually to the utmost outcome for both parties. As a result, the Hellenic Navy by reinforcing and completing its armaments program, upgrading its operational capabilities, is even more in the position to execute any mission effectively and successfully fulfill all requirements and challenges on a professional basis.

The six submarines will be equipped not only with exceptional operational potentials but also with the well trained professional crew who have already great experience in submarines. All these submarines, then, will be ready to take over any kind of mission, not only within the Hellenic sea boundaries, but also throughout the Mediterranean sea or in any open sea around the world, if required.

All parties which have been involved in this program should feel proud and content for the excellent results they have achieved. Therefore concluding my brief speech, I would like to express my warmest gratitude to all those that have contributed to the successful completion of the construction and sea trials of the submarine Papanikolis.

I would also like to point out the help of our allies and friends in German Navy for providing their facilities as well as their excellent collaboration.

The Commanding Officer and her crew which will be soon fully manning the submarine, I urge they take advantage of their potential and execute their duties, continuing the Hellenic Navy tradition in which the Greek people trust. I wish they have fare well seas and St Nickolas protects them in every activity.

The emphasis is mine.

It is a very diplomatic worded speech as it does not mention any of the unsolved topics. The performance of Papanikolis was very much despised by Greek side in the last 4 years and during this period Greek Navy declined to accept the boat due its deficiencies. Now almost everything seems to be solved.

Not all the problems listed by Greek Navy during the initial trials are solved to the satisfaction of Greek Navy as the are detailed description of the additional tests which must be done when Papanikolis reaches Mediterranean. (Section B, Contact 012B/00, Annex B, Appendix 2 of the contract signed by TMKS, Abu Dhabi Mar, , HDW, HS and Greek Republic on 29 September 2010)

The issue regarding the submarines main armament is not solved either. Initially Greek Navy decided to use Italian Black Shark torpedoes. But this selection was cancelled in 2004 due to high cost of integration the Italian torpedoes into German combat system. Currently there are no announced acquisition plans for modern torpedoes.

Characteristics of Papanikolis:

Length overall	65,30	m
Length (PP)	64,00	m
Inner diameter of pressure hull	6,30	m
Mean draught (even keel)	6,60	m
Height	13,00	m
Surface displacement	1688	m3
Submerged displacement	1858	m3
Fuel Cell Modules	2 x 120	kW
Propulsion motor output at 150 rpm	3900	kW
Generators output , snorkeling at 1800 rpm	2 x 970	kW
Main batteries	2 x 324	cells
Operational depth	375	m
Test depth	425	m
Collapse depth	680	m
Submerged speed, battery	21,0	Kts
Submerged speed, fuel cell	6,5	Kts
Snorkeling speed	9,0	Kts
Surface speed, diesel	10,5	Kts
Submerged cruising range with battery	390,0	nm
Submerged cruising range with fuel cell	1254,0	nm
Total submerged cruising range	1644,0	nm

Source: Article 2, Contact 012B/00, signed by TMKS, Abu Dhabi Mar, , HDW, HS and Greek Republic on 29 September 2010

Mavi Balina 2010 Naval Exercise

2010-11-03T06:34:00.001+02:00

A Gür class submarine, a possible participant

Turkish Navy is hosting a naval exercise in Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The invitation exercise Mavi Balina 2010 (Blue Whale 2010) has started today and will continue till 11 November 2010.

The aim of the exercise is to conduct submarine warfare and anti submarine warfare training with surface, submarine and air units.

From Turkish Navy, 3 frigates, 5 submarines, 2 corvettes, one replenishment oiler, a maritime patrol aircraft, three helicopters will take part in the exercise plus air force units. From NATO SNMG-2, consisting of F-802 HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën, F-207 FGS Bremen, F-465 HS Themistocle, F-583 ITS Aviere, F-244 TCG Barbaros will take part in the exercise with one unnamed Spanish frigate and a replenishment tanker.

That is a pretty mighty armada of 9 frigates, 5 submarines, 2 corvettes, 2 replenishment tankers plus air units, it is going to be a big exercise.

Any additional information about participating units is apreciated.