Turkey inaugurates naval shipyard, submarine floating dock to service newly built subs

BEIRUT — Highlighting a focus on expanding its naval capabilities, Turkey has inaugurated Aksaz Shipyard command, put into service the first floating dock and announced a number of other maritime milestones.

“We are cognizant of the fact that in order to live in peace on our lands, we must have a strong and effective navy in both our blue homeland and distant geographies,” Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at a ceremony at the yard on Saturday.

Located in Marmaris district, Aksaz Shipyard Command is run by ministry of defense along with primary contractor ASFAT, a government-affiliated firm. According to an ASFAT statement, as of this weekend the shipyard officially hosts the world’s largest submarine floating dock with 3,000-ton lifting capacity, after the dock successfully completed tests and operational trials.

The dock is expected to be used as submarine maintenance and overhaul floating facility for submarines currently in the Naval Forces Command’s inventory and those planned to enter the service.

“It will also handle unscheduled docking in case of malfunctions, accidents, and emergencies for these elements. The dock has the ability to be used for docking pontoons of this and other docks, and can be relocated as needed,” according to the company statement.

Equipped with four diesel generators, maintenance and repair activities can be conducted anywhere on the water. The dock has the capacity to accommodate 28 dock personnel and 14 submarine duty personnel for five days without resupply, according to the ASFAT statement.

Submarines themselves also took part in the large ceremony, as the Turkish Navy formally commissioned TCG Piri Reis (S-330), the first submarine of the “New Type Submarine Project,” while a second submarine TCG Hizir Reis (S-331) started its sea trials and a third submarine, TCG Murat Reis (S-332) was docked for fitting.

“TCG Piri Reis, which entered service today, is the first of our submarines equipped with six air-independent propulsion systems. To date, over 380 factory, harbor, and sea acceptance tests have been successfully completed on the Piri Reis.” Erdogan said.

He added that the second submarine’s commissioning is expected in 2025, while the third is slated in 2026.

Turkey is one of few countries in the Middle East that has local military shipyards and that builds naval platforms indigenously. Ankara is in the midst of a military expansion on both land, sea and air.