‘Symbol of Türkiye’s new vision,’ newest drillship sets off for Mediterranean

The latest and the most advanced drilling vessel in the country’s fleet, Abdülhamid Han, is “a symbol of Türkiye’s new vision” in the field of energy, Erdoğan said, addressing the ceremony to launch the ship in the southern province of Mersin.

Owned and operated by the state energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), the ultra-deepwater drillship is heading for a spot that is 55 kilometres (34.18 miles) off the Gazipaşa region of Türkiye’s southern province of Antalya.

Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brushed aside Greek and Greek Cypriot objections to such drilling missions and said Türkiye has the right to search for energy in its own areas.

“Neither the puppets nor the ones who hold their strings will be able to prevent us from getting our rights in the Mediterranean,” he said, in an apparent reference to Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration on the one hand, and their Western allies on the other.

The area where Abdülhamid Han is set to run its first exploration work is outside waters claimed by the Greek Cypriot administration.

“Our exploration and drilling in the Mediterranean are within our own sovereign dominion,” Erdoğan stressed. “We don’t need to seek permission or ratification from anyone for this.”

“Our ship will not stop, it will go to other wells and continue to search (for gas) until it finds it,” he defiantly said.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said that Türkiye will not give up an inch of its rights in the region or its Blue Homeland doctrine.