Turkey begins construction of naval base in Black Sea

The base will become the country's ninth naval facility
Tuesday, 11 December 2018 17:59

The Turkish Defense Ministry has begun the construction of a naval base in the Black Sea near the Turkish city of Trabzon located in the country's northeast.

The base will become the country's ninth naval facility.

It is planned that 400 military and 200 civilian staff will be working at the base.

So far, Turkey has eight naval forces installations: Mersin and Iskenderun naval bases in the Mediterranean Sea, Akzas and Foça naval bases in the Aegean Sea, Gölcük naval base in the Marmara Sea, Ereğli naval base in the Black Sea and naval bases in the cities of Istanbul and Çanakkale situated in the area of the Turkish Straits.

CNN: US MAKING PLANS TO SAIL WARSHIP INTO BLACK SEA

CNN reported on December 5 that the United States is making plans to sail a warship into the Black Sea, a move that comes with tensions remaining high between Ukraine and Russia.

The channel reported that U.S. military officials have asked the State Department to notify Turkey of possible plans for a navy ship to pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the waterway which bisects Istanbul and which connects the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

A decades-old treaty requires that all countries that do not have a Black Sea coastline are required to give Turkey 15-days notice when their warships plan to transit the waterway.