Libya has long been one of the sharpest points of division in Turkish foreign policy. For years, Ankara stood firmly behind the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, clashing directly with the forces of General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). Turkish military intervention in early 2020 tipped the balance on the battlefield:... Continue Reading →
French Warships in Turkish Ports: A Sign of Rapprochement or Strategic Calculations?
The French Fremm-class frigate Aquitaine arrived in Antalya this morning for a port visit. I am not a fan of the French Navy’s newly adopted policy of erasing the ships' pennant numbers. While information about the ships’ deployments is available on the internet and through other media, this removal of pennant numbers only makes life... Continue Reading →
The Strategic Implications of İDO’s Vessel Sales
İstanbul Deniz Otobüsleri A.Ş. (İDO) was founded by the Municipality of Istanbul in 1987 as an alternative to Şehir Hatları, a state company that provided sea-borne transportation in Istanbul and other cities such as Çanakkale, İzmir, and İzmit. The aim of the company was to provide sea transportation using catamaran-type fast boats and ferries. In... Continue Reading →
Responding To Forest Fires, From The Sea…
The Turkish Navy Conducted an operation to support Muğla Regional Directorate of Forestry. On 4 March 2021, A forest fire was reported on a small bay near Aksaz Naval Base. The area was not accessible by road. Thus three LCT's TCG Ç-149, TCG Ç-157 and, TCG Ç-321 was loaded with the fire fighting trucks of... Continue Reading →
Ivan Antonov Transited Through Istanbul
The Russian Black Sea Fleet minesweeper, Ivan Antonov transited through Istanbul on 16th January 2020 for her first Mediterranean deployment. Her first northbound passage through Turkish Straits was in September 2019 The Alexandrit class mine countermeasures vessel was laid down in January 2017 and launched in April 2018 at the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St. Petersburg.... Continue Reading →
Doğu Akdeniz Naval Exercise 2019
Doğu Akdeniz 2019 -Eastern Mediterranean- naval exercise has started in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The biannual exercise is organized by the Turkish Navy will be held between 9 and 20 November 2019. This year 16 nations are taking part in this exercise by various means. Some are sending observers (Azerbaijan, Brazil, Georgia, Italy, Qatar, Kuwait,... Continue Reading →
The Long Arm Of Turkish Coast Guard
The Turkish Coast Guard made an illegal substance interception 750 nautical miles away from Turkey. The operation was conducted somewhere 78 nautical miles off Tripoli, Libya and 150 nautical miles off Sfax, Tunisia. This is the most distant operation ever carried by the Turkish Coast Guard. The Turkish flagged fishing boat M/V Pervin Oğulları was... Continue Reading →
The Participants In Mavi Vatan Exercise (Part 2)
An update to the major units taking part in the exercise Mavi Vatan: Small landing craft and auxiliaries taking part in the exercise are not included in the list. For further information regarding the exercise click here. Additional information: Frigates: TCG Gökçeada is deployed with the SNMG-2 and TCG Geliblou is in Gulf Of Aden... Continue Reading →
The Participants In Mavi Vatan Exercise
Regular readers of this blog will know, that I like to name the units that are taking part in an exercise. It is not easy to identify the participating units to the Mavi Vatan naval exercise. First, there are 103 units taking part in this drill. I would be able to get to name them... Continue Reading →
What Does The Exercise Mavi Vatan Mean?
Today, 96 ships of various types and 7 submarines sailed away from their ports this morning as the naval exercise Mavi Vatan started. Mavi Vatan means Blue Motherland (or Fatherland or Homeland depending your own orientation) and refers to the seas around Turkey. The exercise is held in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and in the... Continue Reading →
