A Turkish miracle in international waters

A ship launching ceremony in Tuzla, east of Istanbul has taken place on Nov.13.  Among the ships to launched, there were giants that are 300 meters in length and 50 meters in width. 

Not only their size, but their functions matter too, as they will be carrying the Turkish miracle to far seas.
 They are the floating power plants produced by Karadeniz Holding. They call them the “Friend Ship” or “Power Ship”. They are power plants that have the capacity to illuminate cities. 

They move as a ship and anchor at the shore of the specific country. Then they have a liquid gas or natural gas connection. They then start producing. 

Looking more closely to the “Turkish miracle,” a 480 MW floating power plant will head to Ghana. Again, another 480 MW floating power plant will be going to Myanmar. Keep in mind; Myanmar, United States and Chinese companies were also in the bid, but a Turkish company won. After them, two 120 MW-powered ships will be on their way to Indonesia. 

There were other power ships launched before, but are already operating overseas. For instance, 15 percent of the energy needed for southern Iraq, 25 percent for Lebanon, 22 percent for Ghana, 16 percent for Zambia and 31 percent for North Sulawesi, Indonesia are met by these power ships.  

This investment is the Turkish flagged “energy fleet.” There are several other deals made with many countries and cities in Africa. Just to understand the dimension of the operation better, I asked how much a 480 MW power ship is able to illuminate, and was told that it can illuminate approximately a city with a population of 2.5 million. 

Until today, Africa’s blood has been drained out through generators, which is why they want cheaper energy coming from Turkey. The electricity they buy costs 30 cents per unit, but they can buy it at 10 cents a unit from Turkish power plants. 

The building of these ships with its entire technical infrastructure, their liquid or natural gas burning technology, the design, several associated projects, the construction and the operation are all the work of Turkish engineers.   

This giant energy investment has been awarded the best after competing with global giants. There are 18 more power ship orders to be built in Turkish dockyards. 

Osman Karadeniz, the owner of the project, is also an idealist following the footsteps of the legendary Turkish amateur maritime figure, Sadun Boro. I asked him what it feels to launch this colossal project to the sea, he mentioned Sadun Boro and said  “We are sending the energy he gave us, to the seas of the world.”  

They are signing deals all over the world to send these ships. He said they were sailing at seas they never thought of, at islands one won’t be able to find on maps. They will also be sending one ship to the U.K., upon a recent order they received. 

In this system discovered and developed by Karadeniz Holding, a power ship of 500 MW means almost $500 million. For Turkey a 6,000 MW means $6 billion worth of energy and production. 

I salute the Turkish engineers, workers and investors for their hard work.