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 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 →
NATO Says The Piracy In Gulf Of Aden Is At The Lowest Level Since 2009
Before SNMG-2 returned to the Mediterranean the command of the Operation Ocean Shield, NATO's counter piracy mission was handed over to the SNMG-1. The handover ceremony was done in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. This is a surprise as I did not know that Saudi Arabia supported the NATO operations, even covertly. Commodore Ben Bekkering (Royal Netherlands Navy), assumed command... Continue Reading →
SNMG2 Operational Handover In Turkey
Today, Turkish Navy will pass the command of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 to German Navy for a period of one year. Turkey took the command of SNMG -2 last year in Aksaz Naval Base in Marmaris Turkey. For the first half of the tenure, during the task forces' Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic and North Sea... Continue Reading →
TCG Giresun, The NATO Flagship Saves 7 Yemeni Fishermen And Catches 14 Somali Pirates
According to a statement from Turkish General Staff, F-491 TCG Giresun boarded a Yemeni fishing vessel on the morning of 11th May 2012. TCG Giresun a Gabya class frigate, is the Turkish contribution to NATO's SNMG-2 task force. This tack force is commanded by Read Admiral Sinan Tosun. SNMG-2 is currently acting as NATO's anti... Continue Reading →
Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun, Commander SNMG-2, On Piracy (Part II)
This must be the NATO-effect. Usually Turkish officers are not that much talkative to the press. This is the second time within this month that Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun, Commander SNMG2 talks to international press. Mr. Guy Toremans from Jane's Naval International interviewed Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun on piracy. As the original article is behind... Continue Reading →
Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun, Commander SNMG-2, On Piracy
Turkish contribution to NATO's SNMG-2, F-491 TCG Giresun made a short port visit during DIMDEX maritime defence exhibition, in Doha, Qatar. TCG Giresun is one of the seven Gabya (ex-Perry) class frigate in Turkish inventory that received the GENESIS modernization. She is also the flag ship of the SNMG-2. After attending the DIMDEX, TCG Giresun made a 6 day port... Continue Reading →
TCG Giresun Catches Seven Pirates
This is not a new story. Sorry for the delay. On 17th March 2012, the Turkish frigate F-491 TCG Giresun caught 7 pirates in a skiff of the coast of Somalia. At first, the skiff was intercepted by the on board helicopter of the frigate 60 nautical miles south of Yemeni coast just inside the IRTC. When the frigate... Continue Reading →
TCG Giresun Exercised With Russians And EUNAVFOR In Gulf Of Aden
The Turkish flagship of NATO's Standing Maritime Group 2 F-491 TCG Giresun took part in a joint replenishment at sea exercise with EUNAVFOR and Russian ships in Gulf of Aden. According to the EU Navfor press release the Europeans showed their replenishment at sea skills first and later watched how Russians do it. The flagship of EUNAVFOR, A-14 SPS Patiño refueled the Turkish frigate later,... Continue Reading →
TCG Giresun Hosts The Commander Of CTF-151
The commander of two counter piracy task forces CTF-151 and TF-508 (NATO SNMG-2) met to discuss joint operations and coordination between these two task forces. Currently Turkish Navy has the command on the SNMG-2. More over Turkish Navy did led the CTF-151 twice 5 May -13 August 2009 and 1 September -29 November 2010. Commodore Aage Buur Jensen Danish Royal Navy,... Continue Reading →
