Reuters. Turkey resumed its hydrocarbon drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday (August 9) after a two year hiatus, though President Tayyip Erdogan said its new drill ship would operate outside waters also claimed by Cyprus.
The Abdulhamid Han, Turkey's fourth drill ship, will operate 55 kilometres off the Gazipasa region in the southern coastal province of Antalya, Erdogan said.
"The survey and drilling work we are conducting in the Mediterranean are within our sovereign territory. We do not need to receive permission or consent from anyone for this," he said, speaking at a ceremony to launch the ship in Turkey's coastal Mersin province.
The launch comes at a time when long-running tensions between Turkey and Greece have risen again, with Erdogan accusing Athens of arming islands in the Aegean Sea that have a demilitarised status. Athens rejects this.
A Greek government spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday that Athens is monitoring the situation carefully.
Ankara said the 238-metre (780.84 ft) Abdulhamid Han is the largest and the most technologically advanced deep sea drilling ship in its survey and exploration fleet. It can drill down more than 12,000 metres.
