Turkey is sending a new drilling vessel to the Mediterranean Sea

After a two-year hiatus, Turkey resumes its drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean. On 9 August, the official ceremony was attended by Abdulhamid Han's drilling vessel, which was attended by the President of Turkey. Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Abdulhamid Han is Turkey's fourth drilling vessel, which will operate 55 kilometres from the Gazipasa region in the southern coastal province of Antalya. President Tayyip Erdogan stated that the new drilling vessel would operate outside the waters to which Cyprus claims.

The discovery of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean over the last decade has made this region an alternative source of energy for Europe, but has also exposed disputes between neighbouring countries about the right to these resources.

We must be vigilant... We have always done what we must to have stability in our region and fully defend international law and our own sovereign rights.

spokesman for the Greek Government, Giannis Oikonomou

Ankara reported that the 238-meter Abdulhamid Han is the largest and most technologically advanced deep-sea drilling vessel in its research and exploration fleet. The unit can drill at a depth of over 12,000 metres.

Turkey has not sent a drilling unit to the eastern Mediterranean since the withdrawal of the Yavuz drilling vessel from the disputed waters in September 2020.

Yavuz, Fatih and Kanuni drill vessels operated in the Black Sea, where Turkey discovered a reserve of natural gas of 540 billion cubic metres.

Turkey is almost entirely dependent on gas imports to meet its energy needs, and rising global energy prices have prevented the government's current account deficit from being converted into an export surplus.

Source: Reuters