The Coast Guard Command (Turkish: Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı) is the coast guard service of Turkey. The Turkish Coast Guard is under the command of the Ministry of the Interior. However, during wartime some of its elements can be subordinated to Turkish Naval Forces by the President.
The Turkish Coast Guard is organized into four area commands: the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
Affiliated with the Guarding Administration (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.[4][5]
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.
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:
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. Integrated ADVENT MARTI Air Command Control System for CN-235 aircraft.[9] Coast Guard is equipped also with 20 mobile radars.[10]
AB-412 EP SG Helicopter modernization project : Within the scope of the project, the Aselflir R400D Electro-Optic System, KDU-45 Keyboard Display Unit, SMFD-810 Display and Internal Communication System developed by ASELSAN in order to maximize the current and future operational capability of the Coast Guard Command will be integrated with avionics and navigation systems as well as the Surface Search Radar developed with domestic and national resources.[11] HELRAD Maritime Search and Weather RADAR-MSWR will be integrated on the AB-412EP SAR helicopters. First delivery of modernized helicopter is expected by 2025.[12]
Planned Acquisition : T625 Gökbey and T925 helicopters.[13]
6 used by TRNC[20][21]
The Force's highest-ranking officer is a Rear Admiral U.H. (Tümamiral). The coast guards wear the same rank and rate insignia as ordinary navy officers but with an orange thin arc-shaped stripe, with the words "Sahil Güvenlik" (Coast Guards) embroidered in black, worn on their upper right arm, close to the shoulder. Also, special pennants are flown for the senior officers of the Coast Guard.