Why did Victor Ponta receive from the Turks a model of the corvette that Romania bought ready-made from Turkey

In 2025, Romania signed a contract initiated when Angel Tîlvăr (PSD) was Minister of Defense and through which the Army bought a patrol ship already built in Turkey. The Turkish builder was present at the Black Sea Defense & Aerospace (BSDA) military exhibition in Bucharest, where he offered “a symbolic gift” to former prime minister Victor Ponta.

• In December 2025, Romania signed a contract with the Government of Turkey for the sale of a patrol vessel that will end up costing more than 300 million euros in total.
• The ship, a “light corvette” type, had been built for the Turkish Navy, but was no longer used in Turkey.
• The purchase of this ship, which has not yet been delivered, has generated controversy because, although there are shipyards in Romania that build military vessels for NATO countries, the Romanian Army has not purchased any ship made in the country.

“A memory” for Victor Ponta

At the Black Sea Defense & Aerospace (BSDA) military exhibition in Bucharest, the Turkish shipbuilder ASFAT had a stand where it displayed a model of the new corvette named “Contraamiral Roman” bought by Romania. The Turkish builder also had a large poster of this ship at the stand, bearing tricolor insignia.

Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta was received in front of this poster, with whom the Turkish representatives took a photo and presented him with a model of the new corvette.

“It was given as a souvenir, not an award. You stopped by just to chat, it was nothing special, it was just a visit,” said one of the representatives at the Turkish company's stand when asked by HotNews why Victor Ponta was “awarded”.

Asked by HotNews why he received a model from the Turkish manufacturer, Victor Ponta said that it was not about any distinction. “It's a symbolic gift that I give to official guests,” Ponta said.

HotNews asked the representatives of the Turkish company if there are other Romanian officials or former officials who were given the model of this corvette, but until the time of publishing this article we have not received any answer.

Last year, during the period in which the Army's plan to buy the ship from Turkey appeared in the public space, the press wrote that Victor Ponta's connections with the authorities and business environment in Turkey pushed the Government towards this contract. The Bursa newspaper wrote about the possible influence of Victor Ponta, who was for a time the adviser of the former prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, in whose mandate the Ministry of Defense, led by Angel Tîlvăr (PSD), promoted the project of purchasing the Turkish corvette.

Asked by HotNews if he had any input or contribution to the signing of this contract, Victor Ponta answered: “While I was prime minister, I encouraged economic and military relations between Romania and Turkey.”

Ponta denied that he had discussed with former minister Angel Tîlvăr about the contract for the Turkish corvette. “Never,” Ponta told HotNews.

Victor Ponta's relationship with Turkey is defined by a long-standing friendship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, strengthened both by official visits and medical treatments in Istanbul during his tenure as prime minister, and by mutual political support.

Recently, Victor Ponta admitted that he has close business and friendship relations in Turkey, where he provides consulting for large companies. The former prime minister denied that he had Turkish citizenship, but only a foreign resident status.

Ship bought off-the-shelf from Turkey, almost without armament

HotNews wrote a year ago how CSAT approved that the Naval Forces equip themselves from Turkey “with a new type of ship, a light corvette, capable of performing, in the shortest possible time, a multitude of missions.” This, without there having been any discussion or program presented in the public space, after years in which any kind of endowment plan for the Naval Forces was constantly extended or procrastinated.

The controversy stems from the fact that the Navy suddenly decided to buy a single ship, already built in Turkey, instead of contracting several ships to be built in the country. The Galati shipyard, for example, built and delivered over 30 military ships to 13 countries, including NATO and EU countries.

In Galati, military ships are designed and built for the Netherlands or Germany, frigates specialized in anti-submarine warfare for Belgium and the Netherlands or drone carriers for the Portuguese navy.

The contract signed with Turkey, for 232 million euros, involves the purchase of the Hisar-class ship armed only with an on-board cannon, and then, in distinct phases, according to HotNews sources, the ship will be armed with different systems.

Thus, the ship should be armed in a Romanian shipyard with Turkish systems such as a Gokdeniz-type CIWS close air defense gun, an anti-submarine missile system, but also an anti-aircraft missile system which, according to HotNews sources, has not been selected yet, but it will most likely be of Turkish origin.

In a third phase, Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship missile systems would be installed on the ship, an integration that will cost around 40 million euros. In total, the fully armed ship will end up costing over 300 million euros.

The ship has not yet been delivered to Romania. At the time of signing the contract, in December 2025, the Ministry of Defense said that “the delivery time is extremely short: almost 6 months, in the current configuration.”