Analysis: Amphibious and Auxiliary Ships of Turkish Industry

The Turkish defence industry offers high-technology and cost-efficient solutions in compliance with NATO standards to navies in the world, notably the Turkish Naval Forces, in need of various types of sea platforms. The industry has a vast product portfolio including not only warships, auxiliary ships, boats, submarines but also unmanned sea systems and gun turrets. In addition to main platforms, the Turkish defence industry is also a solution partner for weapons, ASW and subsystems. Hereunder, Navy Recognition editorial team focused on amphibious and auxiliary vessels.

Amphibious and Auxiliary Ships of the Turkish Industry (Picture source: Army Recognition)

LANDING HELICOPTER DOCK

The Landing Helicopter Dock is built at Sedef Shipbuilding INC. The ship will be used in the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean fields of operations, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, to support amphibious operations, administrative and logistic task functions of the Turkish Naval Forces. The platform will be one of the representatives of the Turkish Naval Force in the world with its vehicle and personnel carrying capacity, command control capability, day/night helicopter operating capability and a complete hospital. The LHD can be used for medical purposes as part of natural disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and refugee evacuation operations thanks to on-board complete hospital and operating theatres if necessary. The ship is 231 metres long and 32 metres wide. 4 LCMs or 2 LCACs can be transported along with tanks on the deck, Armoured Amphibious Assault Vehicles and other wheeled vehicles to the operation zone. The well dock will be 70 m long and 17 m wide.

LANDING HELICOPTER DOCK (Picture source: SSB)

LANDING CRAFT TANK (LCT)

In order to conduct amphibious operations, transfer cargo & troops and humanitarian aid to disaster areas, eight Fast Amphibious Ships, with following specifications, have been designed and constructed for the Turkish Navy by ANADOLU Shipyard. They have been operational since 2012. LCT platforms are equipped with 2x25 mm Stabilised Gun and 2x12.7 mm Machine Gun. Performing 1,200 Nm endurance at full load with 16.5 Knots economical speed, LCT platforms have 400 tons mixed vehicles (3 Main Battle Tanks) or 260 Marines transportation capacity.

LANDING CRAFT TANK (LCT) (Picture source: SSB)

LANDING SHIP TANK (LST)

In order to command and control amphibious operations and provide humanitarian aid to disaster areas, two Landing Ship Tanks (LST), with following specifications, have been designed and constructed for the Turkish Navy by ANADOLU Shipyard. They have been operational since 2017.

LANDING SHIP TANK (LST) (Picture source: SSB)

41 M HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY VESSEL

Hydrographic Survey Vessel is designed to conduct hydrographic, biological, acoustical and geophysical surveys in open seas and inland waters with survey equipment installed on her. The hull is built from AH36 / EH36 shipbuilding steel. The platform is capable of rescue and escort at-sea missions. The ship is 41.2 metres long and 9.55 metres wide. The draft is 3.4 metres. The 41 m Hydrographic Survey Vessel has two shafts and is operated by a 30-man crew. The maximum speed is 13 knots while the range is 1,400+ NM. The platform’s seakeeping abilities are improved by a bow thruster. Her survey equipment include CTO Probe, water sampling system, magnetometer, ADCP, RTK, multi-beam echo sounder, single beam echo sounder, portable multi-beam echo sounder, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and sound velocity profiler.

41 M HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY VESSEL (Picture source: SSB)

ARES 27 NOTC NAVAL OFFSHORE TROOP CARRIER

The ARES 27 NOTC Naval Offshore Troop Carrier is designed for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces. ARES 27 NOTC is designed for troop transition, counter-piracy, surveillance, monitoring and prevention of human trafficking and illegal immigration, humanitarian assistance, towing vessels up to a similar size, and boarding and recovery.

ARES 27 NOTC NAVAL OFFSHORE TROOP CARRIER (Picture source: SSB)

DİMDEG

The contract for the Fleet Replenishment Ship – DİMDEG was signed on 10 July 2018 at the Presidency for Defence Industries. The platform will be used for replenishment at sea of fuel, water, food, spare parts, medical supplies, ammunition for the platforms of the Turkish Naval Forces. It is planned to integrate various indigenous subsystems into the ship which will also have command control capability. The platform is planned to be 194 metres long and weight 22,000 tons. It is expected to be delivered in 2023.

DİMDEG (Picture source: SSB)

FLEET TANKER

The contract for construction of Fleet Tanker for the operational requirement of Pakistan Navy was signed between Ministry of Defence Production, Pakistan and STM of Turkey on January 22nd, 2013. STM as the prime contractor of PNFT Project is responsible for the provision of design data package and kit of material, which consists of systems, material, and equipment for construction and outfitting. Construction of Fleet Tanker is to be undertaken in Karachi Shipyard (KS&EW). Fleet Replenishment Ship is designed as per operational requirements of Pakistan Navy for provisioning of logistics support to Pakistan Navy ships in terms of dry and liquid cargo both during peace and war in accordance with classification society rules.

FLEET TANKER (Picture source: SSB)

FRT FLEET REPLENISHMENT TANKER

FRTs are an innovative solution to support long-range missions of naval forces. She can refuel the fleet as well as the helicopters. FRT-19800 provides full logistic support for any container packed equipment, replenishment and supplies. FRT-19800 is capable of vertical & both side replenishment and has dry cargo container handling ability. FRT-2500 is capable of storing and supplying fuel to ships at sea and harbours and also capable of limited logistic support for navy ships during operation.

FRT FLEET REPLENISHMENT TANKER (Picture source: SSB)

LOGISTIC SUPPORT VESSEL (LSV)

Logistic Support Vessel (LSV) Project consists of 2 ships through local design, construction and integration in order to meet operational requirements of the Turkish Naval Forces Command. The ship has been designed in order to meet fuel requirements of combat ships, fuel transfers between shore facilities, helicopter day and night operations up to 15 tons, carrying containers for different purposes such as humanitarian and rescue aid to disaster areas, a hospital for small-scale surgical operations. The ship has a hydraulic crane which has a lifting capacity of 18 tons and an electrical crane which has a lifting capacity of 2 tons.

The ship is fitted with Astern Fueling System (AFS) which is capable of transporting fuel to a vessel sailing behind the replenishment vessel. The ship has a cargo capacity of 4.036 tons of oil, 336 tons of helicopter fuel (F-44/JP-5) and 594 tons of freshwater. The platform is a mono-hull type vessel, all-steel construction, designed to meet the speed, sea keeping manoeuvrability and stability requirements. Expected service life will be 30 years. The ship will have an unlimited operation capability up to sea state 5 and will be operable with some limitations in sea state 6 or higher. The ship has 100% redundancy for critical systems and fully air-conditioned accommodation. Full Monitoring and Control of major ship systems from MCR and damage control stations, automatic stability and loading control system. Endurance is up to 9,500 nautical miles at full load displacement, sea state 2 and economical speed which is 12 knots. Enough provisions for 30 days at sea.

LOGISTIC SUPPORT VESSEL (LSV) (Picture source: SSB)

MOSHIP SUBMARINE RESCUE MOTHER SHIP

The MOSHIP is designed to perform undersea and surface search & rescue missions in various sea conditions. She is equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system. MOSHIP is capable of detecting distressed submarines, providing life support, evacuating her crew up to 600 m and transferring them under pressure up to 5 bars. She has a maximum continuous speed of 18 knots and an endurance range of 4,500 NM at an economical speed of 14 knots.

MOSHIP SUBMARINE RESCUE MOTHER SHIP (Picture source: SSB)

NAVY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND DIVER’S TRAINING BOAT

DESAN Shipyard is already constructing two Navy Emergency Response and Diver’s Training Boats for the Turkish Navy. All construction will be finalised within completely Closed Construction Hall of DESAN Shipyard. Diver’s Training Boat has been designed for diver training, emergency rescue, emergency support tasks for diving operations. Diver’s Training Boat has been designed to provide a modern, mono-hull platform with axe-bow to give a good performance, manoeuvring and sea keeping characteristics together with reliability and safety for the various operational roles required. The boat is fully operational in sea state 3 and there is no route and speed limitation under the indicated sea conditions. The hull and the superstructure are to be constructed of marine grade steel. The propulsion system of the base design consists of two separate independent propulsion shaft lines. The boat is 34.94 metres long and 8 metres wide. The draft is 2 metres. The displacement is 260 tons and the maximum speed is 16 kn. The platform is operated by a crew of 6 and can accommodate 15 trainees.

NAVY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND DIVER’S TRAINING BOAT (Picture source: SSB)

RATSHIP RESCUE AND TOWING SHIP

The RATSHIP is designed to perform undersea and surface search & rescue missions, open sea towing operations and fire fighting in various sea conditions. She is equipped with twin CPP system, aft and bow tunnel thrusters and a retractable thruster which allows high manoeuvrability. She is capable of detecting distressed submarines and providing life support. She has a maximum continuous speed of 18 knots and an endurance range of 4,500 NM at an economical speed of 14 knots.

RATSHIP RESCUE AND TOWING SHIP (Picture source: SSB)

SEISMIC RESEARCH VESSEL

The SEISMIC is designed to perform 2D/3D seismic research and sampling for hydrographic, hydroacoustic, geologic studies. She is equipped with diesel-electric propulsion system. She has a maximum continuous speed of 18 knots and an endurance range of 4,500 Nm at 14 knots. SEISMIC has scientific research capability up to sea state 4. She is fitted with 4x4 streamer systems; however, hull and system infrastructure are ready for 8x8. She has water sampling capability up to 2,500 m, geological sampling capability up to 3,000 m. SEISMIC has also Class I Dynamic Positioning System and can make ROV operations.

SEISMIC RESEARCH VESSEL (Picture source: SSB)

TCG YARBAY KUDRET GÜNGÖR (A 595)

TCG Yarbay Kudret Güngör (A-595) is the first ship built by a private Turkish shipyard for the Turkish Navy. The builder is Sedef Shipbuilding. The platform is 143.1 metres long and 22.8 metres wide. The draught is 7.6 metres. The ship is used for offshore replenishment missions. The crew consists of 203 members. The displacement is 14,000 tons. The ship can carry 9,980 tons of fuel, 2,700 tons of water, 80 tons of oil and 500 cubic metres of materials.

TCG YARBAY KUDRET GÜNGÖR (A 595) (Picture source: SSB)