Coast Guard Command (Turkey)

The Coast Guard Command (Turkish: Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı) is the coast guard service of the Turkish Republic. The Turkish Coast Guard is under the command of the Ministry of the Interior. However, during wartime some of its elements can be subordinated to Turkish Naval Forces by the President.

Coast Guard Command
Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı
Seal of the Turkish Coast Guard
Founded
  • 27 July 1931 (as the General Command of Customs Guard)
  • 9 July 1982 (as the Coast Guard Command)[1]
Country Turkey
TypeCoast guard
RoleLaw enforcement, coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Size5,324 employees[2]
14 helicopters
3 airplanes
Part ofMinistry of the Interior
HeadquartersAnkara
Website
Commanders
Commander-in-ChiefPresident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Minister of the InteriorMinister Süleyman Soylu
CommandantRear Admiral Ahmet Kendir
Insignia
roundel
Racing stripe

The Turkish Coast Guard is organized into four area commands: the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Organization

Affiliated with the Guarding Administration (Ottoman Turkish: Muhafaza Memurluğu), the Coast Guard is responsible for controlling the maritime jurisdiction areas and coasts of Turkiye and fighting all kind of illegal action in the responsibility area. Turkish Coast Guard is also the main Search and Rescue Coordination Authority in Turkish SAR Zone.

Strength

With a personnel strength of about 5,500, the coast guard is responsible for maintaining the security of the coast and territorial waters. The Coast guard is also responsible of search and rescue (SAR) operations, and for protecting the marine environment.

Mission

Coast Guard Command is a security service, established on 9 July 1982 by Act.2692, with the purpose of performing missions such as; providing the security of Turkish coasts, territorial waters and inland waters such as the Marmara Sea, Istanbul and Çanakkale Straits, ports and harbors and exercising such rights and powers where Turkey exercises sovereign rights under the rules of both national and international laws at sea areas which fall outside the scope of the general responsibility of the Turkish Naval Forces and to prevent and pursue all kinds of smuggling activities carried out by way of sea. The missions, Coast Guard Command was charged with by Act. 2692 are:

  • To protect and provide the security of our coasts and territorial waters,
  • To provide the safety of life and property at sea.
  • To take necessary measures for untethered mines, explosives and suspicious material identified in the sea and on the coast and report them to the authorities concerned.
  • To observe and inspect the operating conditions of the aids-to-navigation and report the deficiencies observed to the authorities concerned,
  • To disarm the refugees entering into our territorial waters and deliver them to the authorities concerned.
  • To prevent all kinds of smuggling carried out by way of sea.
  • To prevent the actions of the vessels and sea craft in violation of the laws on radio hygiene, passport, anchoring, mooring, fishing, diving and hoisting the flag.
  • To inspect the fishing of aquatic products,
  • To conduct inspections in order to prevent the marine pollution.
  • To prevent the smuggling on antiquities by conducting inspections on diving activities.
  • To perform search and rescue missions within the search and rescue area of Turkey, in conformity with the International Search and Rescue Convention and National Search and Rescue Regulations.
  • To inspect the yacht tourism,
  • To participate in the operations conducted for the security of homeland under the command of the Naval Forces, when so ordered.

Public order units
  • Coast Guard Command (Ankara)
  • Coast Guard Academy (Ankara)
  • Coast Guard Marmara and Straits Regional Command (Istanbul)
  • Coast Guard Black Sea Regional Command (Samsun)
    • Coast Guard Trabzon Group Command
    • Coast Guard Amasra Group Command
    • Coast Guard Supply Support Command
    • Coast Guard Black Sea Region Repair Support Command
  • Coast Guard Aegean Sea Regional Command (İzmir)
    • Coast Guard South Aegean Group Command
    • Coast Guard North Aegean Group Command
    • Coast Guard Aegean Sea Regional Repair Support Command
      • Radio Coast Guard (104.7 mhz.) (İzmir)
    • Bodrum Coast Guard Police Station Command (Bodrum / Muğla)
  • Coast Guard Mediterranean Regional Command (Mersin)
    • Coast Guard Antalya Group Command
    • Coast Guard İskenderun Group Command
    • Coast Guard Çevlik Patrol Command (Çevlik / Hatay)
  • Coast Guard Air Command (İzmir)
    • Coast Guard Samsun Air Group Command
    • Coast Guard Antalya Air Group Command
    • Coast Guard Air Stand Training Fleet Command
    • Coast Guard Air Operations Command
    • Coast Guard Air Supply and Maintenance Command
  • Coast Guard Training and Education Command (Antalya)
    • Coast Guard Schools Command
    • Coast Guard Training Central Command
  • Coast Guard Supply Center Command (Istanbul)
    • Units subject to Coast Guard Regional Commands
      • Coast Guard Central Station Commands
      • Coast Guard Patrol Commands and affiliated boat Commands
  • Diving Safety Security and Search and Rescue

Equipment

Surface patrols are carried out by 52 patrol vessels and smaller craft. The most effective of these are 14 search-and-rescue vessels (220 tons) of Turkish design. Smaller 150 ton and 70 ton patrol boats of German design were nearing obsolescence in the mid 1990s. An ambitious construction plan foresaw a major strengthening of the service with eight new vessels of 350–400 tons and 48 ships of 180–300 tons.

Turkish Coast Guard
Boats[3]
4Dost-class patrol vessel (1700 Ton)
1880 Class CG Boats (195 Ton)
4SAR 35 CLASS (210 Ton)
10SAR 33 CLASS (180 Ton)
13KAAN 33 CLASS (113 Ton)
9KAAN 29 CLASS (97 Ton)
10KAAN 19 CLASS (30 Ton)
18KAAN 15 CLASS (21 Ton)
6SAR 1906 (9 more on order)
N/AARES 35 FPB (122 on order)
10ARES 42 Hector (SAGET)
12CG Picket Boats (29 Ton)
n/aCG Control Boats (Rubber Inflatable Boats)
n/aKEGAK (Coastal Safety and Salvage) Teams (Rubber Inflatable Boats)
n/aSAGET (Coast Guard and Safety) Teams (Rubber Inflatable Boats)
Aircraft[4]
3CASA CN-235
Helicopter[5]
14Agusta-Bell AB-412

Insignia
NATO codeOF-10OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1OF(D)Student officer
 Turkish Naval Forces
 Various [note 1]
Büyükamiral Oramiral Koramiral Tümamiral Tuğamiral Albay Yarbay Binbaşı Yüzbaşı Üsteğmen Teğmen Asteğmen Bahriyeli

Note: Highes rank in the Turkish Coast Guard is Rear Admiral U.H.(Tümamiral)

NATO CodeOR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1
 Turkish Naval Forces
 No insignia
Astsubay Kıdemli
Başçavuş		 Astsubay
Başçavuş		 Astsubay Kıdemli
Üstçavuş		 Astsubay
Üstçavuş		 Astsubay Kıdemli
Çavuş		 Astsubay
Çavuş		 Kıdemli Uzman
Çavuş		 Uzman
Çavuş		 Çavuş Kıdemli Uzman
Onbaşı		 Uzman
Onbaşı		 Onbaşı Er

The Force's highest-ranking officer is a Rear Admiral U.H. (Tümamiral). The coast guards wear the same rank and rate insignia as ordinary navy officers but with an orange thin arc-shaped stripe, with the words "Sahil Güvenlik" (Coast Guards) embroidered in black, worn on their upper right arm, close to the shoulder. Also, special pennants are flown for the senior officers of the Coast Guard.

  • Commander of the Coast Guard : For the Commander of the Coast Guard, a square orange coloured flag with a black stripe connecting the lower mast side and upper right corner of the flag, also bearing two bombs (one on the upper mast side, the other on the opposite corner) is flown.
  • Coast Guard Commander (Rank of Captain) : For these officers, a swallow tailed pennant with a horizontal black stripe across the flag, dividing it in two, also bearing a bomb on each side of the stripe, is flown.
  • Coast Guard School Commander : The Coast Guard School Commander has a square orange flag, with a white anchor in the center and a vertical black stripe just near the mast.
  • Coast Guard Group Commander : The Group Commander has a triangular orange pennant, with a black anchor in the middle.

Notes
  1. Student officer insignia denotes school grade rather than military seniority.

See also Maritime Search and Security Operations Team

References
  1. "History of Turkish Coast Guard Command". Turkish Coast Guard Command. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. "TSK Mevcut Personel Sayısını Açıkladı" [TSK Announces Its Active Personnel Numbers] (in Turkish). Aktifhaber. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. "Dost Class". Turkishnavy.net. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. "CASA CN-235-100M MPA". Turkishnavy.net. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. "AB-412 EP". Turkishnavy.net. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.