The Şehit Teğmen Caner Gönyeli 2026 Search and Rescue Invitation Exercise, which demonstrated the joint capabilities of Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus search-and-rescue organizations, was successfully completed after the naval phase. The naval phase of the exercise began with the departure of the flagship TCSG Yaşam search and rescue vessel from Famagusta Port. The activity was followed by TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Deputy Minister of Interior Kübra Güran Yiğitbaşı, Coast Guard Commander Vice Admiral Ahmet Kendir, TRNC Security Forces Commander Major General İlker Görgülü, and local and foreign observers.

As part of the exercise scenario, a search and rescue operation was carried out after a cargo ship carrying many irregular migrants collided with a commercial yacht outside TRNC territorial waters but within the Turkish search and rescue region. Following the distress signal from the vessels, Turkish and TRNC search-and-rescue organizations quickly took action. A search and rescue aircraft belonging to the Coast Guard Command conducted a reconnaissance flight in the area to determine the location of the survivors.

After some of the survivors at sea were detected, search and rescue personnel aboard helicopters evacuated several casualties from the water using the “quick strop” method and floating stretchers. The injured were transferred by helicopter to TCSG Yaşam for medical checks, while a search and rescue kit containing an inflatable boat was dropped from an aircraft for the remaining survivors at sea. The survivors were then picked up by fast rescue boats and transported to the ship.

In the next phase of the exercise, a search and rescue aircraft belonging to the Turkish Air Force Command also joined the scenario. The aircraft dropped a rescue boat into the area where the survivors were located from an altitude of 1,000 feet, then climbed to 5,000 feet and deployed a search and rescue team. The team parachuted into the sea and carried out rescue operations for the injured. Other survivors remaining at sea were rescued through the coordinated efforts of ships, helicopters, coast guard boats and Turkish Air Force search and rescue personnel, and were taken to Famagusta Port for transfer to hospital.

The security dimension of the scenario also included an intervention against the cargo ship carrying irregular migrants. Coast guard boats issued warnings and carried out interception maneuvers to stop the vessel. When no response was received, the Coast Guard Special Operations Team conducted an operation to take control of the ship and evacuate the irregular migrants on board. As the cargo ship was being brought under control, a fire broke out. The crew and migrants were evacuated by coast guard boats, while the fire was extinguished by coast guard vessels. After the search and rescue activities were successfully completed, the aircraft and vessels participating in the exercise performed a salute passage in front of TCSG Yaşam.

Speaking after the exercise, TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel emphasized that the activity was a concrete demonstration of the unshakable ties, military cooperation and common security understanding between Türkiye and the TRNC. Üstel stated that the Eastern Mediterranean is passing through a more critical period than ever before, with new alliances, military structures and calculations over energy resources emerging in the region. He underlined that the security of the Turkish Cypriot people is guaranteed by Türkiye’s effective and de facto guarantorship.

Deputy Minister of Interior Kübra Güran Yiğitbaşı stated that search and rescue activities are among the clearest indicators of the value placed on human life and the race against time. Yiğitbaşı emphasized that all coast guard floating units participating in the exercise were built in Turkish shipyards and announced that national coast guard vessels to be built entirely with domestic and national capabilities will also begin serving in the Blue Homeland. Coast Guard Commander Vice Admiral Ahmet Kendir noted that the exercise successfully tested cooperation, coordination, command-control and communication procedures between Türkiye and TRNC search-and-rescue organizations.

The Şehit Teğmen Caner Gönyeli Exercise showed that search and rescue capability in the Eastern Mediterranean is not only a technical activity, but also a strong indicator of the common security vision between Türkiye and the TRNC. The coordinated operation of naval, aerial and special operations elements within the same scenario increased readiness for possible crises in the region and demonstrated the effectiveness of a search and rescue approach centered on human life. The exercise was recorded as an important activity showing once again to national and international audiences the ability of Türkiye and the TRNC to act jointly in their search and rescue responsibility areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.