On 26 March 2018 Turkish Navy started its spring exercise Deniz Yıldızı 2018. Ships departed from their ports and the first phase of the exercise was held in the Marmara Sea. On 27 March 2018 Turkish warships passed northbound through Istanbul and continued the exercise in the Black Sea. The exercise will end on 5th April
Though it has not been officially announced, the decommissioned oiler ex Binbaşı Saadetin Gürcan, that was observed being towed to the Black Sea in February is believed to be sunk as a target.
This weekend these warships are dispersed all over the ports in the Black Sea for a well earned weekend break. Turkish warships are simultaneously visiting Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, and Ukraine. It is neither an easy nor a simple act of sending 8 warships to foreign cities for port visits and small scale exercises at the same time.
The list of the warships taking part in the exercise and their port of call for the weekend is below:
| Number | Name | Type | Port | Country |
| S-360 | 1. İnönü | Submarine | Varna | Bulgaria |
| P-1207 | Tekirdağ | Patrol Boat | Varna | Bulgaria |
| A-578 | Darıca | Tug | Varna | Bulgaria |
| F-242 | Fatih | Frigate | Batumi | Georgia |
| P-343 | Volkan | Fast Attack Craft | Batumi | Georgia |
| F-504 | Bartın | Frigate | Constanta | Romania |
| P-331 | Kalkan | Fast Attack Craft | Constanta | Romania |
| Novorossiysk | Russia | |||
| Novorossiysk | Russia | |||
| A-572 | Yüzbaşı İhsan Tulunay | Tanker | Giresun | Turkey |
| F-240 | Yavuz | Frigate | Hopa | Turkey |
| P-341 | Martı | Fast Attack Craft | İğneada | Turkey |
| S-350 | Yıldıray | Submarine | Karadeniz Ereğli | Turkey |
| A-580 | Akar | Tanker | Karadeniz Ereğli | Turkey |
| F-245 | Oruçreis | Frigate | Rize | Turkey |
| F-247 | Kemalreis | Frigate | Samsun | Turkey |
| S-349 | Batıray | Submarine | Samsun | Turkey |
| F-243 | Yıldırım | Frigate | Sinop | Turkey |
| F-500 | Bozcaada | Corvette | Trabzon | Turkey |
| P-335 | İmbat | Fast Attack Craft | Trabzon | Turkey |
| P-336 | Zıpkın | Fast Attack Craft | Zonguldak | Turkey |
| F-246 | Salihreis | Frigate | Odessa | Ukraine |
| F-512 | Büyükada | Corvette | Odessa | Ukraine |
It is interesting to note that Novorossiysk, Russia was declared the fifth foreign port of call by Turkish Navy on 16th March 2018, in the pre-exercise press release. However, Novorossiysk was not mentioned by the daily dispatch of Turkish General Staff on 31st March 2018, as one of the ports where Turkish Navy ships are conducting a visit.
On the other hand, the same dispatch mentioned 23 warships are taking part in the Deniz Yıldızı exercise but only disclosed names and location of 21 warships. So there could be two warships conducting a port visit in Novorossiysk, Russia or not.
Another interesting thing to note is the absence of Gabya ex-Perry class frigates. Turkish Navy operates 8 Gabya class frigates. None was observed to pass to the Black Sea recently.
Here are the photos of some of the participants:
devrimyaylali.com 