Turkish Navy takes command of anti-piracy task force off Somalia

Admiral Ercumet Tatlioglu, the commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, announced that the Turkish Navy has assumed command of a naval task group dedicated to combating maritime banditry off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.

The announcement came following the commissioning ceremony of TCG Kusadasi and TCG Kumkale at Aksaz Naval Base to be deployed to Qatar, in Marmaris, where Tatlioglu praised the Turkish Naval Forces’ successful operations in surrounding seas.

Tatlioglu emphasized that the Turkish Navy is one of the world’s leading naval forces with its deep-rooted history.

Explaining that they are in command of the mine countermeasures task group in the Black Sea, Tatlioglu noted that they have ships in NATO’s mine warfare task group and NATO’s surface task group in the Mediterranean.

Stating that there are two frigates in front of Libya in the Mediterranean, Tatlioglu said, “We support the operation in front of Lebanon in the Eastern Mediterranean. As of yesterday, we took command of the naval task group to combat maritime banditry off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean. Today, we are here to send our 2 Tuzla-class domestic and national ships to the friendly and brotherly Qatar Navy in order to contribute to maritime security.”

Emphasizing that TCG Kusadasi and TCG Kumkale were built with domestic and national facilities, Tatlıoglu said that the Turkish Navy is strengthening its power day by day with its ships and weapon systems built with domestic and national facilities.