The RV ''MTA Turkuaz'' is a Turkish

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

and survey vessel owned by the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Commissioned in early 2017, she will operate in deep waters under the supervision of the Geophysical Directorate for Subsea Geophysical Exploration Division. The research vessel was ordered by Defence Industry Undersecretariate at

Ministry of National Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

on April 24, 2012. She was entirely

designed A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

in SEFT Ship Design by Turkish engineers and built at Istanbul Shipyard in

Tuzla, Istanbul Tuzla is a municipality of the province in Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the city next to the municipality of Pendik. Tuzla is on a headland on the coast of Marmara Sea, at the eastern limit of the city. The mayor is Şadi Yazıcı ( AK ...

, Turkey as the first-of-its-kind. She was launched on March 28, 2015. She will conduct a wide variety of research work including

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

hydrography Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water de ...

, undersea geology,

earthquake engineering Earthquake engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind. Its overall goal is to make such structures more resistant to earthquakes. An earth ...

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...

, ecological research and undersea engineering in addition to

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

for

oil and gas exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

. The vessel cost around 300 million (approximately US$115 million). It is projected that the vessel will be in use for at least 30 years.

Characteristics

The ''MTA Turkuaz'', a great ocean-going and Arctic-fit vessel, is long, with a beam of . Assessed at and 1,500 NT, she has a speed of in service and during research work. She will be fitted with two- and three-dimensional undersea survey equipment and a remotely operated multipurpose underwater vehicle (ROV). She provides a landing platform capable of supporting the day-and-night operation of a 12-tonne helicopter. 50 personnel including researchers will be on-board the ship, which has an autonomous endurance of 35 days. Turkish defense electronic systems producing company ASELSAN delivers all the technical and electronic equipment needed for the navigation of the vessel and for the scientific research and survey work, such as the cruise control (navigation) system, the integrated communication system, the oceanographic research systems, the 2D/3D marine seismic survey system and the geological research systems.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MTA Turkuaz Research vessels of Turkey 2015 ships Ships built in Istanbul Survey ships

Characteristics

See also

References