Savarona to serve Naval Academy after repair works end

ANKARA

The Defense Ministry has announced that Savarona, modern Türkiye founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's iconic yacht, will be put into the service of the Naval Academy students following the completion of its repair and maintenance works aimed at preserving the original texture.

"Savarona, the spiritual heritage of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our republic, which was taken into the inventory of the Naval Forces Command on Aug. 17, is undergoing extensive repairs at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard pool. Savarona, which will be put back into service after the faithful repair, will be used in the naval training of our students," the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

As a result of the studies carried out on the ship during the restoration, it was determined that a large amount of asbestos was used in the coatings, circuits and insulation and that the electrical cables and pipe circuits were equipped with materials that did not comply with the standards during the repairs made in the period when Savarona was rented to a businessman.

Upon this, the Istanbul Naval Shipyard started works for cleaning up asbestos from the areas where it was detected at the end of November.

The decontamination of the entire ship is planned to be completed in January.