The RV ''MTA Sismik 1'' is a decommissioned Turkish

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

belonging to

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical universit ...

. She is operated by its Faculty of Maritime for training purposes. Originally, she was 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 ...

and operated by its division of Geophysical Directorate for subsea geophysical exploration. The ship's crew consists of 7 officers and 16 seamen. Research work is conducted by 12 scientists aboard. She has an autonomous endurance of 25 days.

History

The ship was built by

Danziger Werft Danziger Werft ( en, The International Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited, pl, Stocznia Gdańska) was a shipbuilding company, in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), in what was then the Free City of Danzig. It was founded in 1921 on the si ...

in Danzig for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's Kriegsmarine. Named ''Ägir'', she was launched on May 18, 1942. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she was taken by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to England, where she was rebuilt as a

salvage tug A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground. Overview Few tugbo ...

, and renamed ''Hercules'' in 1949. She was based in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

from 1950 until 1954 when she was sold to Turkey. Her Turkish owner, the Denizcilik Bankası renamed her ''Hora'' and used as a salvage tug in service four year long from 1954 in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, and for ten years in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

. In 1968, she was acquired by the Port Authority of Izmir to be used as a stationary

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

. In 1975, MTA purchased the ship ''Hora'' to transform her into a research vessel, and renamed her ''MTA Sismik 1''. After fitting her with up to date technology equipment for subsea geophysical exploration at seas around Turkey, she was commissioned in 1976. Finally in 2005, it was decided that the more-than-60-year-old ship has completed her

service life A product's service life is its period of use in service. Several related terms describe more precisely a product's life, from the point of manufacture, storage, and distribution, and eventual use. Service life has been defined as "a product li ...

. She was donated to Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Maritime to be used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

Characteristics

''MTA Sismik 1'' is long, with a beam of and a max. draft of . Assessed at and 275 NT, the ship is propelled by a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

. She has a speed of in service.

Ship's register

*1942 ex ''Agir'', built for the German Navy "Kriegsmarine", *1949 ex ''Hercules'', taken by the United Kingdom and rebuilt as salvage tug. 1950-1954 in Gibraltar, *1954 *ex ''Hora'', sold to Denizcilik Bankası in Turkey as salvage tug. 1954-1958 in Istanbul, 1958-1968 in Izmir. 1968-1970 as stationary pilot boat, *1975 acquired by General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), Geophysical Directorate, *1976 ''MTA Sismik 1'', transformed into research vessel by the MTA, *2005 ''MTA Sismik 1'', donated to Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Maritime for training purposes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MTA Sismik 1 Research vessels of Turkey Tugboats of the United Kingdom 1942 ships Ships built in Danzig Auxiliary ships of the Kriegsmarine Istanbul Technical University

History

Characteristics

Ship's register

See also

References