Turkish Stealth Ship Kinaliada Arrives in Japan on Path to Join Ukrainian Navy

Japan hosts U.S. Navy bases, and in places like Yokosuka and Sasebo, where the U.S. Navy has its homeports, you can often see U.S. Navy vessels. Additionally, naval ships from other countries with which Japan has established relations occasionally visit Japanese ports. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) also conducts missions and training exercises around the world, and these reciprocal visits of naval vessels are considered highly important for military exchange during peacetime.

 

This past June was a particularly notable month, with naval vessels from the Turkish Navy, Indian Navy, and Royal Netherlands Navy visiting Japan in quick succession. Among them, the Turkish Navy garnered special attention. 

The Turkish Navy made stops at Kushimoto Port in Wakayama from June 8th to 11th, Tokyo Port from June 12th to 16th, and Kure Port from June 18th to 21st. Their visit to Japan had two main purposes: the first was a goodwill visit to commemorate the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Turkey. The second purpose was to pay tribute to the Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul.

In 1890, the Ottoman Empire’s first goodwill mission to Japan was aboard the “Ertuğrul” ship, which took 11 months to reach Japan and docked in Yokohama on June 7th. Although the mission was successfully completed, cholera spread onboard, resulting in the ship staying in Japan for an additional three months.

 

The cholera outbreak eventually subsided, and the ship set sail on September 15th, rushing to return home. However, the following day, while navigating off the coast of Kii Ōshima in Wakayama Prefecture, the ship ran aground due to a typhoon and sank along with approximately 600 crew members. During the incident, residents of Kushimoto Town (then known as Ōshima Village) conducted rescue operations, saving 69 people. Turkey has never forgotten this act of kindness, and whenever they visit Japan, they make sure to call at Kushimoto Town.

 

As such, exchanges with the Turkish Navy have been ongoing since before the war, but this recent visit was special. The very rare stealth ship “Kınalıada” visited Japan. It is the fourth ship of the “Ada” class, of which four were deployed in 2011, and it is the latest ship, having just been commissioned on September 29, 2019.