Turkish Coast Guard RHIB With Thermal Camera

24 Jul 2019

It is interesting to note that the Turkish Coast Guard changes the configuration of hardware of small vessels depending on the region they are operating.

The above photo shows two small RHIBs of the Turkish Coast Guard. One of the left KB4307 was photographed on 1st July 2019 in İstanbul. One of the right KB4309 was photographed in Çeşme ten days later.

Both have a Raymarine radar. KB4309 has additionally one fixed mount thermal camera. The camera is either ML132 or ML232 from the USA company FLIR. In 2010 FLIR bought Raymarine so essentially FLIR and Raymarine are one. Why the RHIB in Çeşme has the thermal camera and the one Istanbul doesn’t have? The answer is illegal immigration and human trafficking. Çeşme being very close to the Greek Island Xios has been a hot spot for those who want to get across the sea and those who want to stop it.

The thermal camera on KB4309 helps its crew to see the boat full of immigrants in the night and probably records the events for further investigations.

Filed under Aegean, Turkish Coast Guard Tagged with , ,

The Long Arm Of Turkish Coast Guard

23 Apr 2019 2 Comments

The approximate site of the interception. It is 750 nautical miles away from the nearest Turkish naval base.

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 carrying 5000 kg of marijuana. This is the third long-distance drug bust of the Turkish Coast Guard

Acting on a tip-off, Turkish security forces established that suspected drug traffickers aboard M/V Pervin Oğulları sailed away from the Izmir, Turkey in early February to the coasts of Mauritania, Morocco, and Algeria, to acquire large amounts of drugs.

The drugs were intercepted on their way to Turkey before the traffickers were able to distribute them to smaller vessels before smuggling them into Turkey.

Two Dost class offshore patrol vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard, TCSG Umut and TCSG Yaşam took part in the operation and carried two helicopters and 25 law enforcement officers, 15 of them from the Gendarmerie.

The 6 crew of the fishing boat has been arrested along with 7 others in Turkey. The fishing boat was brought to Izmir, Turkey where it has started it’s ill-fated voyage.

Here is a 20-minute long video of about the operation including the footage of the actual boarding conducted at 04.00 am on 15 April 2019.

The commissioning of Dost class vessels has really increased the operational range of Turkish Coast Guard and it is nice to see that these vessels are deployed properly for long distance operations freeing up warships.

Filed under Mediterranean, Turkey Tagged with , , ,

Turkish Coast Guard Rescues 275 People, During Search And Rescue Exercise

15 May 2018 1 Comment

Dost class OPV, TCSG Güven acted as the flagship for the Turkish Coast Guard units taking part in the exercise.

Turkish Coast Guard rescued 275 illegal immigrants from the sea on 6 different occasions during the Deniz Aslanı 2018 search and rescue exercise.

According to Turkish Coast Guard, on 14 May 2018 during the search and rescue exercise held in the Aegean Sea, in 6 different incidents total of 275 the illegal immigrants were rescued from hardly seaworthy rubber boats.

Deniz Aslanı is an annual exercise held, in international waters of the Aegean Sea covered by Turkish Search and Rescue Area. Search and Rescue units from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and elements of Transportation, Maritime Affairs, and Communications Ministry participated in the exercise.

The aim of the exercise is to improve the coordination and collaboration between the military and civilian search and rescue units and coordination centers.

Filed under Aegean, Turkish Coast Guard Tagged with , ,

Turkish And Greek Coast Guard Boats Collide

14 Feb 2018

According to news reports Turkish Coast Guard vessel TCSG Umut and Greek Coast Guard vessel HCG Gavdos has collided when they were maneuvering near Kardak Islets.

HCG Gavdos sustained damage and reported to be heading to Piraeus to be repaired. There are no reports about any damage on TCSG Umut. But her sister TCSG Güven has observed leaving her home port in Büyükdere Istanbul and heading to the south. It is at this moment too early to say whether she sailed to replace TCSG Umut.

Since both sides are blaming the other for this incident it is not clear at this point how the incident really happened. But since TCSG Umut is the larger and heavier of the ships it is possible that HCG Gavdos may have bear the brunt of the collision.

Here is a comparison between the to ships:

LS 090 Gavdos SG-703 Umut
Length (m) 58 88
Beam (m) 9,55 12
Displacement (tons) no data 1727
Crew 30 60

 

HCG Gavdos seems to be damaged at near the wireless antennas towards the aft of the boat. Photos: protothema.gr and news.in.gr

Filed under Accidents, Aegean Tagged with , , ,

Greek Coast Guard Fired Upon Turkish Flag Merchant Ship

4 Jul 2017 1 Comment

Bullet holes on the funnel of M/V Act. Photo: denizhaber.com

A bizarre incident happened today off the coast of Rhodes. Greek Coast Guard fired 2 dozen rounds to the Turkish flagged merchant ship M/V Act to stop her.

According to Greek Coast Guard, the Port Authority on the island received an anonymous call that the ship was carrying drugs. Thus the Greek authorities intercepted M/V Act. The merchant ship however refused to sail to Rhodes as ordered and changed her course to Turkey. Since the warning shot to the bow of the ship did not deter them to go to Turkish waters shots were fired to the funnel of M/V Act.

According to Turkish General Staff, two Turkish Coast Guard vessels and one Turkish Navy fast attack craft was sent to the area.

It is not clear at the moment there the merchant ship is exactly heading and whether Turkish Coast Guard will board the ship and search for the alleged narcotics.

Filed under Aegean, Greece, Turkey Tagged with , , ,

Turkish Coast Guard And Navy Confiscate Record Size Of Narcotics

7 Jun 2017 3 Comments

M/V Commander Tide being towed towards Aksaz Naval Base by tug TCG İnebolu.

Turkish Navy and Turkish Coast Guard conducted a joint operation and confiscated 1071 kilograms of narcotics of board of M/V Commander Tide.

M/V Commander Tide is a Democratic Republic of the Congo flagged off shore supply vessel. On 30. May 2017, upon receiving a tip-off about the narcotics on board of M/V Commander Tide, frigate TCG Gemlik was deployed to Eastern Mediterranean close the northern entrance of Suez Canal with a helicopter and a naval special forces team on board. Acting as the lookout, the frigate found M/V Commander Tide and started to shadow her.

The route of the ships and the location of the operation. Yellow for coast guard vessels, red for the target.

Two off shore patrol vessels from Coast Guard were deployed with anti-drug police teams, TCSG Yaşam from Mersin and TCSG Güven from Aksaz.  Both ships intercepted their target in international waters of Mediterranean between Turkey and Suez Canal.

On 2. June 2017 before the midnight one naval special forces team boarded the vessels from the sea while a second one fast-roped from a Seahawk helicopter of the navy. The M/V Commander Tide was under control in 26 minutes and her 9 strong Turkish crew were arrested. The ship was towed to Aksaz Naval base by Turkish naval tug TCG İnebolu.

Teams from the police’s anti-drug branch and Muğla Coast Guard Command carried out searches on the ship and found clandestine sections, of which one included 1071 kilograms of heroin hidden in 40 sacks. According to the police, the amount of heroin corresponds to the highest seized by security forces in Turkey’s recent history.

The operation was dedicated to Coast Guard sailor Alper Al, who was killed by an IED attack on May 22, 2016.

Filed under Mediterranean, Turkey Tagged with , , , ,

First Damen SAR 1906 Boat Is Getting Ready For The Service

16 Apr 2017

In November 2016, Dutch shipyard Damen has signed a contract with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Ankara, Turkey for the supply of six, search and rescue (SAR) vessels for delivery in 2017.

The boats are designed for SAR operations in all-weather and can self right within seconds after a capsize or even a 360° roll. The 19 meter long boat, has a maximum speed of 31 knots and can carry up to 120 survivors.

The six boats will be built by Damen’s Turkish Shipyard in Antalya. The first two boats are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2017 and the deliveries will be finished by the end of 2017.

These will be the first Damen built boats for Turkish Coast Guard. And these boats are going to be the first dedicated and purpose designed search and rescue vessels of Turkish Coast Guard. Damen was not a supplier for Turkish Coast Guard. The fact that the contract was financed by EU funds must have helped the Dutch company. Turkish Coast Guard usually prefers local shipyards and local designs.

Below is a video of the self righting test of the first boat courtesy of Mr. Murat Güçlü.

Filed under Turkish Coast Guard Tagged with , , ,

Update On TCSG-25’s Collision With M/V Tolunay

16 Apr 2017

On 17 August 2016, Turkish Coast Guard vessel TCSG-25 collided with the Cook Island flag and Turkish owned bulk carrier M/V Tolunay, near the southern entrance of Bosphorus.

TCSG-25 was tasked to escort the Russian Natya class mine hunter Valentin Pikul which was returning from her Syrian deployment. The coast guard boat capsized after the collision.  Lieutenant Ali Rıza Yücel, Petty Officers Yavuz Gökhan Şahin, Bülent Demirkaya and rating Sinan Göktaş died while the remaining 3 crew members were rescued.

The captain of M/V Tolunay, Abdullah Hamadı and 2 members of the crew are currently on trial. They are charged with causing death and injury through negligence. The prosecution asks for imprisonment from 4.5 years to 22.5 years.

There is a video taken by a sailor on board of the Russian mine sweeper showing the accident. TCSG-25 had the agility and the speed to sprint and move away from the merchant ship.

Filed under Accidents, Turkish Coast Guard Tagged with , ,

Turkish Coast Guard To Receive 6 Damen Vessels

5 Nov 2016 1 Comment

sar_1906

A 3D-rendering of SAR Vessel 1906 by Damen Shipyards.

The Dutch shipyard, Damen has signed a contract with the International Organisation for Migration, for the supply of six, Search and Rescue (SAR) vessels for delivery in 2017. The boats are being financed by the European Union and will be operated by the Turkish Coast Guard, to support the refugees and migrants rescue operations, according to Defence Turkey Magazine.

The boats are designed for SAR operations in all-weather and can self right within seconds after a capsize or even a 360° roll. The 19 meter long boat, has a maximum speed of 31 knots and can carry up to 120 survivors.

The six boats will be built by Damen’s Turkish Shipyard in Antalya. The first two boats are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2017 and the deliveries will be finished by the end of 2017.

These will be the first Damen built boats for Turkish Coast Guard. And these boats are going to be the first dedicated and purpose designed search and rescue vessels of Turkish Coast Guard. Damen was not a supplier for Turkish Coast Guard. The fact that the contract was financed by EU funds must have helped the Dutch company. Turkish Coast Guard usually prefers local shipyards and local designs.

Filed under Turkish Coast Guard Tagged with , , ,

Turkish Navy Helped Panamanian Flagged Merchant Ship

24 Oct 2016

1

TCG Yıldırım with M/V Fom. Photo: Turkish Naval Forces

According to Turkish Navy press release, MEKO 200 class frigate TCG Yıldırım, evacuated crew from a stricken merchant ship.

The Panamanian flagged merchant ship M/V Fom has suffered a severe engine problem, off the coast of Black Sea town Karadeniz Ereğlisi. The ship lost power and asked for assistance. TCG Yıldırım was dispatched to the drifting M/V Fom. The on board helicopter from the frigate, evacuated 8 strong crew from M/V Fom. The crew after receiving an initial medical attention on TCG Yıldırım, was later transferred to the shore by Turkish Coast Guard.

Filed under Black Sea Tagged with , ,

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