First new Turkish logistic support ship enters service

The Turkish Navy's logistic support ship Yüzbasi Güngör Durmus (A 574) pictured during sea trials. (Cem Devrim Yaylali)

The first of two new logistic support ships on order for the Turkish Navy, TCG Yüzbasi Güngör Durmus (A 574), has been commissioned into service, Ismail Demir, head of Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), announced on his official twitter feed on 8 December.

The SSB awarded a contract to Turkish shipbuilder Selah Shipyard in November 2014 to design and build the two support ships under the Turkish Navy's Lojistik Destek Gemisi (LDG) programme.

Yüzbasi Güngör Durmus was launched at Selah Shipyard on 8 October 2016, followed by second-in-class Ustegmen Arif Ekmekci (A 575) in July 2017. However, the construction programme experienced significant delays after Selah Shipyard went bankrupt in 2019 before completing the ships. The programme is now being completed at Ada shipyard with STM acting as prime contractor.

The support ships have an overall length of 105.4 m, a beam of 16.8 m, and a 5.9 m draft.

They have a dead weight of 6,200 tonnes, with a F-76 diesel oil cargo capacity of 4,000 tonnes, in addition to 330 tonnes of JP5 aviation fuel and 550 tonnes of fresh water. The vessels can carry a crew of 70.

There is a crane forward of the bridge superstructure and the design includes a helicopter deck aft that can operate a medium helicopter.

The propulsion system comprises two Caterpillar MaK 8M20C diesel engines developing 1.52 MW each, capable of a maximum speed of around 12 kt.

Armament includes two Aselsan STAMP 12.7 mm remote-controlled weapon stations.