A ceremony was held for the 100th anniversary of the Gölcük Shipyard Command. The ceremony was attended by Kocaeli Governor İlhami Aktaş, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu and Deputy Minister of National Defense Salih Ayhan, as well as Navy Commander Vice Admiral Kadir Yıldız, Naval Training and Garrison Commander Rear Admiral Yücel Darcan, Naval Air Commander Rear Admiral Mehmet Savaş Eser, Gölcük Shipyard Commander Rear Admiral Dr. İzzet Emre Afacan, military officers and shipyard personnel attended.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gölcük Shipyard Commander Rear Admiral İzzet Emre Afacan stated that Gölcük Shipyard Command is the story of the Republic's will to be independent at sea and said:
"The shipyard has gained submarine construction capability since the 1970s. The process that started with the Ay class continued with the Preveza, Gür and Reis class submarines. The first two submarines of the Reis class, TCG Piri Reis and TCG Hızır Reis, were delivered to the navy. With the MİLDEN project, construction capability was combined with national design power. To date, the shipyard has built and delivered a total of 512 ships and marine vessels to the Navy. The large scale lost in the earthquake of 17 August 1999 tonnage combat ship construction capability was regained with the Offshore Patrol Ship Project.”
THE LARGEST POOL OF THE REGION IN GÖLCÜK
Deputy Minister of National Defense Salih Ayhan also stated that Gölcük Shipyard meets the needs of the navy with its century-old experience and said:
"In addition to the construction of Reis class submarines and the design activities of MİLDEN, the half-life modernization of Gür and Preveze class submarines and Barbaros class frigates continues. Maintenance and repair of 86 platforms under the responsibility of the shipyard have been carried out. Training, maintenance and modernization support has also been provided to friendly and allied countries. Project planning works of the Stone Pool Project, which will allow the safe docking of the national aircraft carrier, are continuing. The investment, which is planned to be the largest pool in the region, will be carried out by Gölcük Shipyard in shipbuilding and will increase maintenance capacity.”
'WE ARE BUILDING 34 SHIPS AT THE SAME TIME'
Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu emphasized that Gölcük Shipyard has been adding strength to the navy for a century and gave the following information:
"The shipyard has played an important role in the development of the Naval Forces with its ship construction, maintenance, repair and research activities from past to present. The construction work of the Reis class submarines in Gölcük, Pınarhisar and MİLDEN, the 9th ship of the Offshore Patrol Ship Project, continues. As of today, we are simultaneously building 34 ships as the Turkish Navy in our military and civilian shipyards. At the same time, we design and build 23 ships for foreign navies. With the decisions taken in the Defense Industry Executive Committee "14 more ships will be added to the current construction works. These are 3 Tepe-class destroyers, 2 mine hunting ships, 2 national assault boats, 2 tank landing ships, 1 Stack-class school ship and 4 offshore patrol ships. The national aircraft carrier is planned to be launched on September 27 next year."
A DOCUMENT WAS PRESENTED TO RETIRED PERSONNEL
Following the speeches, a presentation titled 'Gölcük Shipyard from Past to Present and Tomorrow' was watched, which included interviews of the late retired shipyard personnel. Memorial objects and service certificates were presented to retired shipyard commanders and personnel who worked at Gölcük Shipyard for many years. Then, Gölcük Shipyard Command Orchestra gave a musical concert.
THE FIRST WELDING OF THE PATROL SHIP WAS DONE
