Expansion into Somalia and Yemen helps Turkish shipbuilding industry

[ekrem]

Turkey is using humanitarian aid and development assistance to build its economic, political and energy cooperation with Yemen and Somalia.
The effort is one part of a push to expand Ankara's soft power in the short term and possibly secure long-term port access in those countries.
Meanwhile, Ankara has also been increasing its naval presence in the Gulf of Aden to lay the foundation for a larger political and military role in the strategic waters.
(...)
Turkey is building up its navy through a maturing indigenous shipbuilding industry, substantial investments and additional purchases.
It is also modernizing its amphibious capabilities.
These trends further expand the role and future capabilities of what is already the most powerful navy in the Middle East and North Africa.
As the Turkish navy grows, it will likely be increasingly tasked to regional and global operations.

Stratfor

According to order books, this resulted in Turkey being regularly placed in the top ten countries on the basis of its deadweight (dwt) production, and in the top five countries by the number of ships.

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/37/51/48641944.pdf

 

[waltky]

Granny says weapons prob'ly from Iran...

Yemen, U.S. intercept ship with 'large cache of illegal arms'
Mon January 28, 2013 - Yemen and U.S. authorities work together in intercepting a ship in the Arabian Sea; U.S. forces boarded the vessel with Yemen authorities, Obama administration official says; The vessel had surface-to-air missiles, explosives and more aboard, Yemen's embassy says

Yemeni authorities working with the U.S. Navy intercepted a ship carrying a "substantial" cache of "illegal arms" such as surface-to-air missiles, potent explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, a U.S. official and Yemen's government said Monday. The incident took place in Yemeni territorial waters in the Arabian Sea last Wednesday, according to a statement issued five days later from Yemen's embassy in Washington.

The crew of the USS Farragut, a Naval destroyer, was working with Yemeni authorities when they spotted the vessel, said an official in the Obama administration. The ship had several flags onboard, but no reliable documentation showing where it came from, the official added Monday. After the ship was intercepted, Yemeni coast guard officers boarded it and "found a large cache of illegal arms," according to the Yemeni embassy's statement, which was also posted on the website of the Arabian country's state-run SABA news agency.

The firepower included anti-aircraft missiles, C4 military-grade explosive, ammunition and bomb-making equipment such as circuits, remote triggers and various handheld explosives, the Yemeni statement said. There were eight Yemeni crew members aboard the vessel. The Obama administration official described the effort as a joint operation, and said U.S. forces joined their Yemeni counterparts in boarding the suspect boat.

Source

 

[waltky]

Kudos to Yemen for intercepting Iranian weapons shipment...

US Commends Yemen for Seizing Ship Loaded with Iranian Weapons
February 09, 2013 - The United States is commending Yemen for seizing a ship loaded with Iranian-supplied weapons apparently headed for rebels in the north.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Saturday a Yemeni government investigation shows the weapons were loaded onto the vessel in Iran. The U.S. Navy and Yemen's coast guard stopped the ship last month in the Arabian Sea. It was packed with weapons including portable anti-aircraft missiles, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. The State Department says these weapons are clearly designed to cause significant damage and the highest possible number of casualties.

Nuland's statement Saturday also praised Yemen's request for a United Nations Security Council investigation into the incident, saying it shows Yemen is vigilant in countering threats to its sovereignty, its political transition, and regional stability. A U.N. investigation would determine where the shipment came from.

The State Department says the origin of the ship and its cargo underscores Iran's ongoing evasion of six U.N. Security Council resolutions banning Iran from selling weapons.

Source

See also:

UN Security Council to Assess Somalia Mission
February 09, 2013 - The U.N. Security Council is preparing to consider a report on Somalia from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that includes options and recommendations for a future U.N. role in the country.

U.N. special envoy to Somalia Augustine Philip Mahiga says a Security Council meeting on the recommendations will take place within the coming week. In a VOA interview, Mahiga said the U.N. intends to adjust to what he called the "new realities" in Somalia. "In the new reality now, the United Nations has to stand beside and behind the government and to mobilize international resources and support and use its good offices to facilitate the objectives of the government," he said.

In late January, a top U.N. official said Somalia is beginning to undergo a "profound transformation." During a visit to Mogadishu, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman praised the government its peace and reconciliation efforts. Somalia went for more than 20 years without a stable central government until U.N.-backed efforts to form a new government succeeded last year. Within the past year, the country has approved a new constitution, selected a new parliament as well as a president and prime minister.

Mahiga says the U.N. will seek strategies to help maintain peace. "The secretary general has stated that peace-building will now be the flagship strategy to spearhead the transformation of Somalia," he said. Somalia's security has improved significantly over the past year. Working with Kenya and Ethiopia, the African Union peacekeeping force, AMISOM, was able to drive al-Shabab militants out of their strongholds in Mogadishu and south-central Somalia. However, the militant group has continued to launch sporadic attacks.

Source