What is the ARES 18 SAR? Turkey’s new search and rescue boat
The ARES 18 SAR is an 18.50-meter aluminum-hulled search and rescue boat that Ares Shipyard is building for Turkey’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety. The first boat of the 16-unit series was launched in June 2026, following the steel-cutting ceremony in October 2025. Classed by Türk Loydu, the platform is the yard’s next major domestic project after the 122-boat fast patrol boat program.
How did the program begin?
In May 2025 the company announced the signing ceremony with the Directorate General of Coastal Safety, an agency under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, for new-generation search and rescue boats. The steel-cutting ceremony took place on October 14, 2025 at the yard’s Antalya facilities, attended by Coastal Safety Director General Mustafa Bankaoğlu and Ares Shipyard CEO Oğuzhan Pehlivanlı. According to Turkish Defense Hub’s report of June 3, 2026, the first boat was launched; chairman Kerim Kalafatoğlu announced that the vessel had moved into the outfitting and testing phase. The contract value is not officially disclosed.
Technical data
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Length overall | 18.50 m |
| Hull material | Aluminum |
| Class | Türk Loydu |
| Units | 16 |
| Operator | Directorate General of Coastal Safety |
| Mission | Search and rescue, coastal safety |
| Speed / range | Not officially disclosed |
The company states that the boat is designed to operate in heavy sea conditions; the machinery configuration and electronic equipment have not yet been officially detailed.
Why an aluminum hull?
The yard had used carbon-reinforced composite in the ARES 35 FPB program; for the ARES 18 SAR, aluminum was chosen. Aluminum hulls are common on search and rescue vessels because of impact tolerance and ease of repair; the coexistence of steel, aluminum and composite production in the company’s catalog shows that hull material is selected according to mission profile. The same multi-material approach appears in the SAT class: the ARES 80 SAT has an aluminum hull, while the BOLD class is composite-hulled.
Its place in the Coastal Safety fleet
The Directorate General of Coastal Safety is the public agency responsible for navigational safety, pilotage and tug services, and search and rescue along the Turkish Straits and coastline. For many years the agency’s rescue boats consisted of vessels of varying ages and types; the 16-boat series will renew its coastal search and rescue capability with a single, new platform. The program stands out as the second application — after the 122-boat FPB program — of the yard’s model of building high-volume, uniform boat fleets for public agencies. The delivery schedule is not officially disclosed.
From steel cutting to launch: an eight-month timeline
Roughly eight months passed between the first boat’s steel cutting and its launch. This tempo was made possible by the infrastructure behind the capacity of six boats per month that the yard reached during the FPB program; aluminum, steel and composite production lines operate side by side at the Antalya facilities. In the launch announcement, Kalafatoğlu said the boat would be delivered after outfitting, harbor and sea trials. Because in serial production the tooling and production learning from the first boat shortens the build time of subsequent ones, the remaining 15 boats are expected to be launched at shorter intervals; the company, however, has not announced a schedule.
Its place in the yard’s SAR portfolio
The ARES 18 SAR is not the only search and rescue design in the yard’s catalog: the product list also includes the 49-meter-class ARES 160 SAR concept. The ARES 18 SAR, however, became the first SAR program to enter serial production. In terms of mission profile, and unlike the law-enforcement-oriented mission set of the ARES 35 FPB, the boat is an unarmed, entirely civilian search and rescue platform. The multi-material production approach the yard pursues on the military side with the BOLD patrol vessels and the SAT special operations craft continues in this program with an aluminum hull.
Frequently asked questions
How many ARES 18 SARs will be built?
The program was announced as 16 boats. The first was launched in June 2026; the schedule for the remaining boats is not officially disclosed.
Which agency will operate the boat?
The Directorate General of Coastal Safety, under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The boats will be used for search and rescue missions.
Is the ARES 18 SAR a military boat?
No. It is an unarmed public search and rescue vessel, classed by Türk Loydu under a civilian rule set.
What does the 18 in the name mean?
Unlike other ARES models, this designation reflects the metric length: the boat is 18.50 meters long. SAR stands for search and rescue.
What is the contract worth?
Not officially disclosed.
Sources and verification note
Program information was taken from company announcements and the independent defense press; undisclosed values are noted. Accessed: August 13, 2026.
- https://www.turkishdefensehub.com/ares-shipyard-launches-first-ares-18-sar-boat-for-turkiyes-coastal-safety-authority-599
- https://ares.global/media-center/news/ares-18-sar-successfully-launched
- https://ares.global/media-center/news/steel-cutting-ceremony-held-for-the-first-vessel-of-the-ares-18-sar-project
- https://ares.global/media-center/news/ares-builds-the-next-generation-of-coastal-guardians-for-turkiye
