Logistics Support Vessel “Yuzbasi Gungor Durmus” Enters Into Service With The Turkish Navy
The first ship of the Logistics Support Ship project, the TCG A-574, has entered into service with the Naval Forces Command, Turkish Defense Industry President İsmail Demir said on his social media account on Wednesday, December 8.
The President of the Presidency of Defense Industries said in a post on his official social media account:
“The first ship of our Logistics Support Ship Project, which was initiated for the logistics needs of our combat ships, the TCG Yzb. (Lieutenant) Güngör Durmuş (A-574), whose construction was completed at the Ada Shipyard under the main contractor of STM, has entered into the service of our Naval Forces Command,”
STM, the ship’s main contractor, posted a message on their social media accounts titled “Pruvası neta (let the road be clear), let the seas be calm,” in which they expressed their pride in handing over the TCG Yzb. Güngör Durmuş (A-574), the first ship of the Logistics Support Ship Project, to the Naval Forces Command.
On November 24, 2014, the TCG A-574 Logistics Support Ship contract was signed with Selah Shipyard as part of the initiative launched by the Presidency of Defense Industry on July 17, 2012. The TCG A-574 Logistics Support Ship, the project’s first ship, began construction on March 25, 2015. On October 8, 2016, the ship was launched in a short period of time. The TCG Ütgm. (First lieutenant) Arif Emekçi, the project’s second ship, was launched on July 7, 2017. After Selah Shipyard went bankrupt in 2019 due to financial constraints, the unfinished ships could not be delivered to the navy.
The outfitting operations of the two unfinished logistics support ships commenced in early 2021, following the signing of an agreement between the Presidency of Defense Industries and STM for the completion of the ships waiting in a shipyard that had gone bankrupt for a long period of time. The TCG Ütgm. Arif Emekçi Logistics Support Ship, however, which is under construction within the scope of the Logistics Support Ship project, is expected to be delivered to the Naval Forces Command in February 2024.
The TCG A-574 Logistics Support Ship was built with the capability of providing fuel support, fuel transfer, supplying fresh water, ammunition, food, containers, spare parts, as well as helicopter operations and health services to other ships. The 106-meter-long and 16.8-meter-wide ship has an electro-hydraulic service crane with an 18-ton lifting capacity and a helipad on the main deck for helicopter landing and take-off.
In addition to one vehicle for personnel transfer, one life boat and one ATAK boat are deployed on the TCG A-574, which can accommodate 82 personnel. The ship, which is outfitted with 2 x 12.7 mm ASELSAN STAMP systems for self-defense against surface targets, can cruise at over 12 knots and has a reported maximum range of 9,500 nautical miles.