What Really Happened To Flight Şafak 46?

Exactly one month ago, on 22 June 2012 one RF-4ETM Phantom II airplane call sign Şafak 46 from 173. Squadron of Turkish Air force took off from Erhaç airbase. The mission of the plane was to help to the calibration of a radar in Hatay Turkey. All radar and radio contact with the plane was... Continue Reading →

The Naval Exercise Sea Breeze 2012 Has Ended

The Sea Breeze 2012 naval exercise (not to be confused with Breeze naval exercise organised by Bulgaria) organized by Ukraine and held in Odessa has finished. It is  the largest multinational maritime exercise in the Black Sea. 1,500 troops from 16 countries, including U.S., Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Algiers, Bangladesh, Belgium, Denmark, Georgia, Israel, Canada, Moldova, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Qatar, Turkey. The... Continue Reading →

USS Abraham Lincoln Has Departed From Turkey

The Nimitz class aircraft carrier CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln finished her 4 day port visit in Antalya, Turkey and started another sea leg of her return trip to USA. USS Abraham Lincoln is the flagship for Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9, which is also comprised of embarked Carrier Air Wing  2, the guided-missile cruiser CG-71 USS Cape... Continue Reading →

The Ukrainian Submarine Zaporizya Made Her First Dive

The effort of the Ukrainian Navy and the resources they spend to put their only submarine Foxtrot class (Project 641) U-01 Zaporizya back to full operational status is amazing. I have tried to follow and report of these efforts since I have heard about it, in February 2010. After being left unused and unmaintained for a very long periods, the... Continue Reading →

A Dream Day For A Ship Spotter

Although Istanbul is on a very busy maritime city, we seldom witness so many naval action in one day and see so many different warships from different countries at the same time. There were three frigates of NATO's SNMG-2, five coast guard vessels from five Black Sea nations, one Japanese coast guard training ship plus various Turkish naval and coast guard vessels. It... Continue Reading →

The Wreck Of The Shot Down Turkish Plane Sighted And The Bodies Of The Pilots Recovered

Today Turkish general Staff published photos from the search and rescue salvage operations Turkish Navy is conducting off Syrian coast. As reported earlier,  the research vessel, E/V Nautilus was able to send her ROVs and broadcast live images from the wreck of the Turkish reconnaissance airplane RF-4ETM. This broadcast also confirmed what we have been  fearining: The two pilots have died and their bodes were recovered... Continue Reading →

E/V Nautilus Starts To Search For The Shot Down Turkish Plane

This was rumored repeatedly last week but now it is official. E/V Nautilus is helping Turkish Navy to locate and inspect the wreckage of RF-4ETM, shoot down by Syria. The ship was in Istanbul for the preparations of her 2012 expedition to explore the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of Turkey and Cyprus. She has departure from Istanbul on... Continue Reading →

M/V Namrun Attacked By Pirates

Let me warn you that this is not a recent news story. Four days ago on 27th June 2012, the Turkish owned and Maltese flagged Supramax bulk carrier M/V Namrun was attacked by pirates as she was passing through the Gulf Of Aden. She was  near position 14:22 N - 054:38 E, approximately 110 nm north... Continue Reading →

The Breeze 2012 Naval Exercise Starts Tomorrow

According to Sofia News Agency, the Bulgarian Navy will host the Breeze 2012 naval drills in the Western Black Sea. The Breeze 2012 training will take place June 22-July 1, 2012, with the southern Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas serving as a base. The goal of Breeze 2012 will be to improve the interoperability... Continue Reading →

USNS Grasp Returns To The Black Sea

I had reported about the port visit of the Safeguard class salvage ship of the US Military Sealift Command T-ARS-51 USNS Grasp in Istanbul last week. I had the impression that after leaving Istanbul USNS Grasp would be heading to the Mediterranean as had spent at least 14 days in the Black Sea where she... Continue Reading →

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