Turkey picks Greek bones

Turkey taking close look at subs rejected by Greece
GeoStrategies Direct | 4/16/2010 | GeoStrategies Direct

Turkey was examining the prospect of acquiring naval submarines rejected by neighboring Greece. Turkish sources said Ankara could acquire up to six Type 214 submarines from Germany. They said the Turkish Navy could receive the underwater vessels for one-third less than their original price.

"This has become a major issue in Turkish relations with Germany," a source said.

In 2009, Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, citing a 524 million euro debt by Athens, canceled a multi-billion-euro submarine project with the Hellenic Navy. The navy had refused to pay for the first Type 214 submarine, complaining that the platform was defective.

The cancellation endangered the future of Hellenic Shipyards, owned by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, and contracted to assemble four of the submarines. In March 2010, the Greek government agreed to acquire four of the submarines in an attempt to rescue Hellenic Shipyards. Athens has already sought to unload the first submarine, named Papanikolis, for about 350 million euro.

Under the deal, Hellenic Shipyards would build two of the submarines for the Greek navy under Project Archimedes. The sources said this would facilitate the sale of the shipyards to the Mar Group of the United Arab Emirates.

The sources said German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Turkey to consider purchasing the Type 214 submarines meant for Athens. They said Ms. Merkel briefed Prime Minister Recep Erdogan and other officials on the submarine during her visit to Ankara in late March.

Turkish analyst Suleyman Yasar warned that the Type 214 vessels were not suitable for the Turkish Navy. Yasar, in a report in the Turkish daily Tafar on April 6, asserted that the Type 214 was noisy and likely to tip over...

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