The Turkish research vessel “Oruc Reis” has returned to Turkey after months of controversial exploration of natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. According to the Marinetraffic platform, the ship was in the port of the coastal city of Antalya today. The mission ended yesterday and was not extended.
The ship, equipped for seismic explorations of the seabed and carrying a diving robot, had been searching for natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean off the Greek islands and west of Cyprus since August, with a brief interruption. The mission was extended several times and most recently until November 29th.
Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said more than a week ago, according to the state news agency Anadolu, that the work was now complete.
A long smoldering dispute over natural gas between Greece and Turkey has reignited at the mission. Greece criticized the search as unlawful. At the EU summit on December 10 and 11 in Brussels, possible further sanctions against Turkey for gas exploration will be discussed. The Turkish seismic exploration ship “Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa” is still looking for natural gas to the southwest of Cyprus.
