Türkiye's 4th drill ship off to Mediterranean for hydrocarbon exploration

ANKARA

Türkiye's new seventh-generation drill ship will operate off coast of Antalya province in the Mediterranean for hydrocarbon exploration, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday.

"We will send our ship, Abdulhamid Han, to the Yorukler-1 well, 55 kilometers (34 miles) away from (Antalya's) Gazipasha," Erdogan said during a ceremony for the first mission of Türkiye’s 4th drill ship Abdulhamid Han at the Tasucu port in the country's Mediterranean city of Mersin.

Erdogan added that Abdulhamid Han drill ship is "the symbol of Türkiye's new vision" in the field of energy.

The president said Türkiye has a "rare" drilling fleet in the world with its ships Fatih, Kanuni, Yavuz, and Abdulhamid Han.

About natural gas exploration, Erdogan said: "Now, with four drilling ships and two seismic research ships, we are also engaged in this field."

He added Türkiye carries out exploration and drilling operations in the Mediterranean within its jurisdiction, saying: "We do not need anyone's permission for this."

Erdogan also noted: "We are planning to finish the operations in the 10 wells required for the first phase of Black Sea gas and to start putting the natural gas acquired from there into service for our nation in 2023."

Abdulhamid Han ship, with seventh-generation advanced technology, has a maximum operating depth of 3,600 meters (11,811 feet), a tower height of 104 m (341 ft) and a crew capacity of 200.

The drill ship is one of the five seventh-generation ships globally, with a maximum drilling depth of 12,200 m (40,026 ft).