ARES Shipyard has launched the first of 122 ARES 35 FPB (Fast Patrol Boats) to be built for Turkish Coast Guard Command and Turkish National Police. Serving as the prototype of the project, this first boat has been specifically built for the Turkish Coast Guard Command. Regarding to the development announced on 17 April, Kerim Kalafatoglu, Chairman of ARES Shipyard, has stated, “We are proud of introducing the first of 122 boats with the waves as a part of the largest serial shipbuilding program in the world’s shipbuilding history”.
ARES 35 FPB will be used for missions such as combating irregular migration and smuggling, search and rescue activities and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) protection. The platform, the classification of which has been carried out by Türk Loydu, will be 12 metres long, 3.7 metres wide and will have a 0.80 metre draft. The boats, which will be powered by two main diesel engines, will have a maximum speed of 35 knots. The range of the boats has been announced as 160 nautical miles.