Turkey deploys research ship to East Med for energy exploration

The Turkish navy yesterday announced plans to send the research ship at the centre of an energy rights row with Greece to the Eastern Mediterranean again, AFP reports.

According to a message sent to the maritime alert system NAVTEX, the Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis vessel would carry out activities in the region, including to the south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo, from today until 22 October.

Ankara first deployed the Oruc Reis seismic research vessel and warship to disputed waters on 10 August and extended the mission, ignoring repeated calls to stop by Athens and the European Union. The vessel will be joined in the latest “seismic survey” mission by two other ships called Ataman and Cengiz Han, according to the NAVTEX message.

Turkey and Greece are at odds over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the Mediterranean. Greece claims rights over the waters around Kastellorizo but Turkey rejects this, insisting it has greater claims to the Eastern Mediterranean because it has a longer coastline.

Last July, The Turkish government officially announced that it will suspend oil and gas exploration off a Greek island amid tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Oruc Reis was pulled back to shore to solve the problem between the two countries. Speaking at the time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the move was to give diplomacy a chance.

READ: EU welcomes Turkish ship’s return to port from near Cyprus