Turkish shipyard preps two landing crafts for Qatari Navy

ANKARA, Turkey — Two landing craft mechanized ships built in Turkey for Qatar’s Navy was put to sea Feb. 8 at a Turkish port. The LCM vessels were constructed by a partnership of Turkish companies Anadolu and Barzan Holding.

Anadolu shipyard officials did not comment on the contract value.

The ships were launched at the Tuzla shipyard in Marmara Sea, south of Istanbul. Anadolu officials noted the LCMs would be delivered to the Qatari Navy at an August ceremony and reach Qatar in September.

“That means the two ships will have been successfully launched in seven months and delivered to the end user in less than 12 months,” said Anadolu’s board chairman, Sualp Urkmez.

Urkmez described the two LCMs as the world’s fastest of their type with the biggest cargo capacity. The Turkish-made LCMs can carry up to 130 tons of cargo each.

“They are designed to have perfect maneuverability, especially in shallow waters,” he said.

Under an earlier contract, Anadolu build and delivered to the Qatari Navy a 2,250-ton training ship, the Al Doha. A twin ship, the Al Shamal, will be delivered soon.

Urkmez said Anadolu wants to build three more LCMs for the Qatari Navy, starting in 2023. He said the company could also negotiate with Qatar the potential sale of its unmanned landing ships.

Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.

土耳其安卡拉——2月8日，两艘为卡塔尔海军建造的土耳其产机械化登陆艇在土耳其港口下水。这两艘登陆艇由土耳其阿纳多卢航运公司和巴尔赞控股公司合资建造。

阿纳多卢造船厂官员未对合同金额发表评论。

这些舰艇在伊斯坦布尔以南马尔马拉海的图兹拉造船厂下水。阿纳多卢通讯社官员指出，这些登陆艇将于8月举行仪式交付卡塔尔海军，并于9月抵达卡塔尔。

“这意味着这两艘船将在七个月内成功下水，并在不到 12 个月的时间内交付给最终用户，”阿纳多卢通讯社董事长苏阿尔普·乌尔克梅兹表示。

乌尔克梅兹称这两艘登陆艇是同类型中世界上速度最快的，也是载货量最大的。这两艘土耳其制造的登陆艇每艘最多可运载130吨货物。

他说：“它们的设计旨在实现完美的机动性，尤其是在浅水区。”

根据早前的一份合同，阿纳多卢造船厂建造并向卡塔尔海军交付了一艘2250吨级的训练舰“多哈”号。其姊妹舰“沙马尔”号也将很快交付。

乌尔克梅兹表示，阿纳多卢造船厂希望从2023年开始为卡塔尔海军建造三艘登陆艇。他还表示，该公司也可能与卡塔尔就出售其无人登陆舰进行谈判。

布拉克·埃格·贝克迪尔是《防务新闻》的土耳其记者。