Directorate General of Coastal Safety

Rescue services of DGCS are well organized within Turkish Straits by having 15 well equipped Rescue Stations. ( 8 of them are Boat Stations and 7 of them are Shore Based Rescue Stations)[1]

Professional Rescue Teams wathckeep at the stations for 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. They listen to the sectors' VHF channel of the Turkish Straits Vessel Traffic Service together with the VHF channel 16 using VHF DSC in Turkish Straits.[1]

13 SAR boats (10 of them are high speed), 5 (RHIB) rigged hull inflatable boats and 15 vehicles to be able to transport of the main equipment Whip and Breeches Buoy of shore based rescue stations are deployed in 15 rescue stations in both Black Sea approaches of Turkish Straits and in Turkish Straits.[1]

Rescue services are performed in two different types as shore based and at sea by boat.[1]

Shore based rescue services are performed for the vessels grounded as drifting to shore with mentioned vehicles by sending line with rockets for whip and breeches buoy equipments when the causality occurs.[1]

Life saving operation in vicinity of offshore is performed by 10 high speed rescue boats (30 knots) having the capability of self-righting and self-floating, and by 3 SAR boats (12 konts) and 5 RHIBs (35-40 knots).[1]

Salvage Department of DGCS has fulfilled the services of tugs, underwater works, salvage&towage with 2 conventional salvage vessels, 4 Fi-Fi class-1 tugs, 11 Firefighting tugs and various type service boats which make up to 25 vessels. Additionally, our project is to include 2 Fi-Fi Class-2 tugs in our fleet in the near future.[1]

DGCS has the capability of responding marine oilspills during salvage operation or in case of any emergency situation to respond to the marine oilspills.[1]

Turkish Straits Vessel Traffic Services (TSVTS) are to be rendered up to now from at the end of 2003 in the interest area –called Turkish Straits- and equipped with 13 observation Towers. Each Observation Towers has X band radar, Monocolor - Color-Infrared Camera and Network Equipment . A few Towers has extra, meteorological Stations and communications equipments.[1]

Republic of Turkish Government has invested 45 million USD since 1999 and spent 7 million USD as a running cost for the TSVTS.[1]

With all of those above mentioned investment, The services to be realized within the baseline of Vessel’s Master Responsibility are as follows:[1]

Monitoring electronic display chart all of vessels movement on area of interest.

Navigational Assistance to Captains to routing the vessels.

Information Services to give the knowledge regarding meteorological and hydrographical situations etc. of Turkish Straits.

Promulgation of navigational information and general warnings

Last but not least, Traffic Organization Service is aimed to effective vessels passing planning within the certain criteria without wasting time vessels on the entrance of Turkish Straits.

Aids to Navigational Services organized along the Turkish coast are to be rendered with 417 lighthouses, 34 light-buoys, 19 marking buoys, 15 fog whistles, 2 fog bell and 3 beacon 9 racon equipments.[1]

It obviates the need of Marine Communication of Turkish and foreign flagged vessel in all over the world seas by using different frequency bands as telephone, telex and telegraph. It has short/middle/long frequency, DSC and Navtex stations. Conducting Distress, Search and Rescue, Navtex and Routine Radio Telephone and Radi Telex communications by; Remote controlled VHF/MF/HF/ Navtex coastal stations.[1]

Turk Radio is Navtex Coordinator and Accounting Authority in Turkey. There are 26 VHF stations unmanned and controlled rometly by 3 control centers in all Turkish coasts.[1]