The 27th September, the anniversary of the Battle of Preveza, is celebrated as the Turkish Naval Forces Day. On 27th September 1538, a naval battle for the supremacy in the Mediterranean was fought between the Ottoman Navy commandeered by Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa and the fleet of a Christian alliance assembled by Pope Paul III and... Continue Reading →
On 30th August 2012 for the Victory Day celebrations two warships F-245 TCG Oruçreis and F-511 TCG Heybeliada made a port visit in Istanbul. Both ships were open to the public and I had the opportunity and privilege to visit the first ship of the Milgem class corvettes, TCG Heybeliada. The visitors were not allowed... Continue Reading →
All warships of the 11th Chinese naval escort task force of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are all present and accounted for. The activities of the destroyer Quingdao 113 and the frigate Yantai 538 were easier to follow and to report. But the replenishment tanker Weishan Hu 877 was unaccounted for since... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, when I have reported about the Sevastopol visit of the PLAN destroyer Quigdao, I have asked where the PLAN frigate Yantai have disappeared. Today she has appeared in Constanta, Romania for an official visit until 4th August 2012. This answers my question about the whereabout of the Chinese warships in the Black Sea. The replenishment... Continue Reading →
With each passing day more information surfaces about the PLAN warships that passed through the Turkish Straits and entered to the Black Sea. Apparently The Ludu (Type 052A) class destroyer 113 Qingdao, the Jingkai II (Type 054A) class frigate 538 Yantai and the Nanyun class replenishment tanker Weishan Hu 887 made up the 11th Chinese... Continue Reading →
I love how it feels when the things turn out more or less as the way you have planned. Since I first heard yesterday, that two PLAN warships passed through the Dardanelles and are heading for the Black Sea I was thinking in my head How I could intercept them at a suitable point in Istanbul with a good... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
The Safeguard class salvage ship of the US Military Sealift Command T-ARS-51 USNS Grasp was in Istanbul last week for a short port visit. USNS Grasp and her sisters were constructed for US Navy in 1980'ies to be used for rescue and salvage operations throughout the world. The class was transferred to the MSC in 2006.
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