TCG ''Değirmendere'' (A-576), ex-''Centaure'' (A674), is a ''Değirmendere''-class offshore tugboat in the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

. Built in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, she was launched in 1974. Christened ''Centaure'', the tugboat saw service in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

with designation A674 from 1974 until her decommissioning in 1999. The same year, she was sold to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, renamed ''Değirmendere'' and went into service in the Turkish Navy under designation A-576.

History

French Navy

The ''Centaure'' (A674) was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

by Oelkers Werft in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, West Germany as the second ship of the ''Tenace''-class ocean tugboats () in the French Navy (). She was launched on 8 January 1974. After completion of her

fitting-out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

La Pallice La Pallice (also known as ''grand port maritime de La Rochelle'') is the commercial deep-water port of La Rochelle, France. During the Fall of France, on 19 June 1940, approximately 6,000 Polish soldiers in exile under the command of Stanisła ...

, the port of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, she was commissioned on 15 November 1974 and joined the navy fleet. Her sister ships are ''Malabar'' (A664) and ''Tenace'' (A669). Capable of towing 60 tons at fixed point and breaking -thick ice, she was designed as a

salvage tug A salvage tug, also known historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground. Overview Few tugbo ...

for the French

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

s (French abbreviation SNLE) ''Redoutable'' (S611) and ''Triomphant'' (S616) in case of damage. On 5 September 1987, the seaside village

Carnac Carnac (; , ) is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France. Its inhabitants are called ''Carnacois'' in French. Carnac is renowned for the Carnac stones – on ...

in northwestern France was named the ship's godmother. The history of the vessel is marked with a rescue effort in 1992 when the crew of the trawler ''Mab-An-Teck'', sinking in stormy sea off the French fishing port

Loctudy Loctudy (; ) is a fishing port and seaside resort in Brittany, France, at the mouth of the Pont-l'Abbé river estuary. The commune is in the Finistère department in northwestern France. Situated on the peninsula of Penmarc'h in the far southw ...

, were saved. The ship's captain,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Viger, was awarded a prize by the "Société Nationale d'Encouragement au Bien". ''Centaure'' was decommissioned on 15 January 1999. During the around 25 years of service in the French Navy, she sailed a total of and accomplished 150 tows.

Turkish Navy

She was transferred to Turkey on 16 March 1999, and renamed ''Değirmendere'' after Değirmendere, a town in Gölcük district of

Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometim ...

on the south coast of Izmit Bay. The official handover took place following a tow exercise using the French

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

''Commandant L'Herminier'' (F791) in the military port Brest. On 2 April 1999, ''Değirmendere'' left Brest to sail towards her

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

in Turkey through Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Drydock accident

On 27 November 2013, ''Değirmendere'' was taken into a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

of Alaybey Naval Dockyard in

İzmir Province İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...

, western Turkey for maintenance and repair works. She capsized during the transfer to the water at 12:50 hours local time (10:50

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

) on 23 December 2013 following the launching of a

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, which was also in the same drydock for repairs. Within 20 seconds, ''Değirmendere'' turned on her

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

in water as keel blocks broke, killing ten and injuring seventeen, who were on board to conduct and supervise the transfer action. One petty officer, seven enlisted of the Navy and two civilian dockyard workers were found dead in the compartments under water by navy divers.

Characteristics

''Değirmendere'' is long, with a beam of and a max. draft of . Assessed at , the ship is propelled by two SACM-WärtsiläUD45V12M4

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s using a four-bladed

Kort nozzle A ducted propeller, also known as a Kort nozzle, is a marine propeller shrouded with a non-rotating nozzle. It is used to improve the efficiency of the propeller and is especially used on heavily loaded propellers or propellers with limited d ...

controllable-pitch propeller. She has a speed of in service. At speed, she has a range of . The auxiliary navy vessel is equipped with

Inmarsat Inmarsat is a British communications satellite, satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with groun ...

and DRBN-34 ( Racal Decca) navigation and landing radars. There are two

12.7 mm machine guns 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

installed on board the ship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degirmendere (A-576) Ships built in Hamburg 1974 ships Auxiliary ships of the French Navy Tugboats of France Ships transferred from the French Navy to the Turkish Navy Auxiliary ships of the Turkish Navy Tugboats of Turkey Naval ships of Turkey