Turkish corvette sets sail for Japan in tribute to historic voyage
Selçuk Böke - ANKARA
The Turkish corvette TCG Kınalıada embarks on an expedition to the Far East on April 8, retracing the route of the ill-fated frigate Ertuğrul, which sank en route from Japan in 1890.
The voyage also marks the centennial milestone of diplomatic ties between Türkiye and Japan.
The TCG Kınalıada will make port calls at 24 destinations across 20 countries during its four-and-a-half-month odyssey, commencing from the western city of İzmir's Foça district on April 8 and concluding on Aug. 19. The journey will pay homage to the legacy of the Ertuğrul, which foundered in a storm after visiting Japan 134 years ago.
The itinerary of the TCG Kınalıada includes visits to key ports such as Djibouti, Somalia, Maldives, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China and South Korea before reaching Japan, as well as stops in the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Jordan.
Aiming to "bolster the visibility of the Turkish Naval Forces" and foster bilateral relations with host nations, the TCG Kınalıada will engage in joint training exercises with naval forces along its route. Additionally, it will extend support to the multinational naval task force CTF-151.
The combined force was set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. It operates in conjunction with the EU's Operation Atalanta and NATO's Operation Ocean Shield.
Commissioned in 2019, the TCG Kınalıada is the latest addition to Türkiye's naval arsenal under the national warship initiative, the MİLGEM project, boasting features including the domestically developed Atmaca missile system by Roketsan.
Produced by more than 50 domestic companies, the TCG Kınalıada boasts a network-supported data integrated battle management system developed by Havelsan. The corvette, measuring 99 meters in length and 14.4 meters in width, can store 20 tons of weapons and achieve a maximum speed of over 29 knots.
It is capable of missions ranging from surface warfare to reconnaissance and surveillance.
The TCG Kınalıada's journey echoes previous voyages by Turkish vessels to Japan, including those of the TCG Turgutreis in 1990 and 2000, TCG Gemlik in 2011 and TCG Gediz in 2015. The historic voyage of the Ertuğrul itself was prompted by a visit from Prince Komatsu Akihito to Istanbul in 1887.
Tragically, the Ertuğrul's voyage ended in disaster, claiming the lives of 540 sailors with only 69 survivors. The Kushimoto town in Japan bears witness to this tragedy with a monument erected in memory of the fallen, a site that continues to host commemorative ceremonies to this day.
