Black Sea Hawk 2015, a joint military exercise for countries littoral to the Black Sea, started off the Turkish coast on Wednesday. The Turkish Armed Forces joined Russian, Bulgarian and Romanian armies for the exercise near Şile, a district of Istanbul on the coast of the Black Sea.

Battleships, Coast Guard vessels and helicopters joined the exercise that aims to improve the defense capabilities of participating countries on the Black Sea.

As part of the exercise, Coast Guard teams from four countries participated in a hostage rescue scenario concerning a passenger ship.