The vessels arrived at the Ocean Cruise Terminal on Tuesday as part of the Turkish Navy’s Anadolu Task Group, which has been taking part in a major NATO deployment across northern Europe.
Turkey’s biggest warship (Image: NQ)
The group included the flagship TCG Anadolu (L400), the largest and most advanced warship in the Turkish Navy, alongside the frigates TCG Istanbul (F-515) and TCG Oruçreis (F-245), and supply ship TCG Derya (A-1590).
During the visit the ships were docked in Southampton waters while the task group paused on its return journey through Europe.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The ships have been operating in the North Sea as part of a Nato Task Force and their stop in Southampton was a planned stoppage.”
Turkey’s biggest warship (Image: NQ)
The deployment formed part of Nato’s Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise, the alliance’s largest joint exercise this year, involving around 10,000 troops from 11 member states.
The task group left Türkiye in January for the three-month mission and has been operating with allied forces in the North Sea and Baltic region.