Coast Guard Command (Turkey)

Coast Guard Command
Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı
Seal of the Turkish Coast Guard
(Turkish Armed Forces portal)
Active
  • 27 July 1931 (as the General Command of Customs Guard)
  • 9 July 1982 (as the Coast Guard Command)[1]
Country  Turkey
Type Coast guard
Role Law enforcement, coastal patrol, marine border protection, marine search and rescue.
Size 5,324 employees[2]
14 helicopters
3 airplanes
Part of Ministry of the Interior (in peacetime)
Turkish Armed Forces (in wartime)
Headquarters Ankara
Website sgk.tsk.tr/
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Minister of the Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu
Chief of the General Staff General Yaşar Güler
Commandant Rear Admiral Bülent Olcay
Insignia
Flag
Racing stripe

The Coast Guard Command (Turkish: Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı) is the coast guard service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. During peacetime, the Turkish Coast Guard is under the command of the Ministry of the Interior. However, during emergency and wartime it falls under the command of the Turkish Armed Forces.

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.

Equipment

Patrol boat of the Turkish Coast Guard.

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[4]
4Search and Rescue Ship (1700 Ton)
1480 Class CG Boats (195 Ton)
14Turkish Type CG Boats (180 Ton)
4SAR 35 CLASS (210 Ton)
10SAR 33 CLASS (180 Ton)
13KAAN 33 CLASS (113 Ton)
9KAAN 29 CLASS (97 Ton)
1KAAN 20 CLASS (30 Ton) (17 more in construction )
18KAAN 15 CLASS (21 Ton)
8KW 15 CLASS (70 Ton)
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[5]
3CASA CN-235
Helicopter[6]
14Agusta-Bell AB-412

Insignia

NATO codeOF-10OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1OF(D)Student officer
Turkey Turkey
(Edit)		 No insignia
Büyükamiral Oramiral Koramiral Tümamiral Tuğamiral Albay Yarbay Binbaşı Yüzbaşı Üsteğmen Teğmen Asteğmen Bahriyeli
NATO CodeOR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1
Turkey Turkey
(Edit)		 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
  • OF-3 and OF-2 translate to "Head of 1000" and "Head of 100" respectively, while OR-2 translates as "Head of 10".

References and notes

  1. ↑ "History of Turkish Coast Guard Command". Turkish Coast Guard Command. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "TSK Mevcut Personel Sayısını Açıkladı" [TSK Accounces It's Active Personnel Numbers] (in Turkish). Aktifhaber. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerinin Barışı Destekleme Harekâtlarına Katkıları". tsk.tr. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Dost Class". Turkishnavy.net. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "CASA CN-235-100M MPA". Turkishnavy.net. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "AB-412 EP". Turkishnavy.net. Retrieved 26 July 2016.

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