Third Turkish drillship reaches its Mediterranean coast

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

Turkey's third drillship arrived in Taşucu, Mersin, a coastal city in the Mediterranean region of the country on March 15, the energy minister said.

Fatih Dönmez said that the Turkish Petroleum Corporation took the ship into its inventory on Jan. 31 and it set off from the U.K.

"We named our third drillship Kanuni. After 18 days of voyage, our ship entered Turkey's Mediterranean coastal waters on March 13. Kanuni arrived Taşucu, Mersin this morning," he said.

The vessel can extend to a depth of 11,400 meters and drill 3,000 meters underneath.

It was built in 2012 by Samsung in South Korea.

Brazilian energy company Petrobras used it for explorations up to 2015.

Dönmez said that entry to and exit from the ship will be forbidden as part of measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

"The ship arrived in Turkey with 35 personnel of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation. After the relevant procedure-related to COVID-19 is completed, the maintenance, update, and development for Kanuni will start," he said.

"The ship will start drilling as soon as it is ready," Dönmez added.

Turkey is currently exploring the Eastern Mediterranean with two drilling vessels Fatih and Yavuz, along with Oruc Reis and Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa seismic vessels in the same region.

The country plans to conduct five offshore drillings in the Eastern Mediterranean this year, according to Turkey's Annual Presidential Program for 2020.

Turkey also plans to explore the Black Sea region where work has been suspended for a long while.