Dearsan Shipyard press release
A contract signing ceremony was held between the Nigerian Navy and Dearsan Shipyard on 6 June 2023 in Abuja, Nigeria which was attended by the Members of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Officials of the Ministry of Defence, Commander of the Naval Forces Vice Admiral AZ GAMBO, Headquarters staff of the Naval Forces Command, Chairman of the Board of Dearsan Shipyard Mr. Aziz YILDIRIM, and our company executives.
A contract has been signed between our shipyard and the Nigerian Navy within the scope of the Refit and Remodeling project of the historically important NNS ARADU Frigate (F89), the Flagship of the Nigerian Navy. The refit and remodeling project of the MEKO 360 class NNS ARADU Frigate, which was built by the German Blohm & Voss Shipyard and commissioned in 1982, has a length of 125 meters and a displacement of 3500 tons, will be carried out at our shipyard in Tuzla, İstanbul. Within the scope of the project; systems, equipment and devices that are out of use due to the age and obsolescence will be repaired or renewed with equivalent modern systems and the frigate will be brought to modern-day standards.
Within the scope of the same contract, 1 unit of 57-meter Tuzla Class Patrol Boat will also be delivered to the Nigerian Navy. The Nigerian Navy will be the fourth user of the 57-meter Patrol Boat after the Turkish Naval Forces, Turkmenistan Navy and Turkmenistan Coast Guard Command, which we will be delivering the 27th unit.
The Patrol Boat, which can take active roles in Patrol /Escort, Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance, Anti-Smuggling & Anti-Piracy, Protection of Rights and Interests at Sea and Natural Resources, Maritime Situation Awareness duties and illegal Fisheries Inspection will also be equipped with Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, and Asymmetric Warfare weapon systems. We are happy and proud that our platform, which has the distinction of being Turkey’s first national warship, will also carry out its duties in Nigerian territorial waters from now on.
Within the modernization and new building projects, we are decisively advancing our works for the continuation of the relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the Federal Republic of Nigeria and for our export targets with Nigeria and other countries.
Naval News comments
The 57-meter-long Tuzla-class patrol boat is operational at the Dearsan shipyard. According to the sources, the boat was built for Libya, but the delivery was not completed due to some problems. Therefore, the Nigerian Navy will be the first user of the vessel.
Dearsan Shipyard is currently building OPV 76 offshore patrol vessels for the Nigerian Navy. The shipyard laid the keel of the first of two vessels in September 2022. Despite refit, NNS Aradu is a 40-year-old frigate. As a result, this relation has the potential to lead to a new frigate procurement in the near future.
