First patrol ship being built by Turkmen Frontier Service shipyard obtained the name of Arkadag (“Protector”), reports REGNUM.
It was not reported at which stage of construction the ship was. Her technical characteristics are unknown either. When the construction is over, Arkadag will be the first domestically built warship in Turkmenistan.
Arkadag is official title of the current Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov . According to the news agency, chief of the State Frontier Service Myrat Yslamov handed over the ship’s model to the president.
In Oct 2011 Turkmen Navy received two Russian-built Project 1241.8 Molniya missile boats delivered by United Shipbuilding Corporation under Russian-Turkmenian military cooperation program. Both vessels are stationed in the Caspian Sea.
Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov announced establishment of Turkmen Navy in Jan 2010. The president decided to construct a shipyard for Turkmen Frontier Service in July 2010. In Nov 2011, he endorsed construction project of the shipyard to be founded in Turkmenbashi.
According to open sources, except for two Molniya-class boats Turkmen Navy presently operates one former USCGS Point Jackson cutter, two fast-speed Turkish patrol boats, two Ukrainian ones (Kalkan-M and Grif-T), and two Russian Sobol-class patrol boats.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, February 15, 2012; Image: freeoda