RV ''MTA Oruç Reis'' is a 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 ...

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

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and operated by its division of Geophysical Directorate for subsea geophysical exploration in shallow waters.

Characteristics

The building of ''MTA Oruç Reis'' was contracted by the MTA to Istanbul Maritime Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul on April 24, 2012. She was launched on March 28, 2015, and was named for

Oruç Reis Aruj Barbarossa ( 1474 – 1518), known as Oruç Reis () to the Turks, was an Ottoman corsair who became Sultan of Algiers. The elder brother of the famous Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, he was born on the Ottoman island of Midilli (L ...

(c. 1474–1518), the Ottoman Beylerbeyi of the West Mediterranean. The vessel is long, has a beam of , a depth of and a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of . Assessed at and a displacement tonnage of 4,867 t, the vessel has a maximum speed of . She is propelled by four 12 V diesel generators of Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC). The number of the crew is 27 and the scientific staff aboard is 28. Following the completion of tests and acceptance activities in April 2017, she will be commissioned to explore

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. She is capable of performing

geophysical survey Geophysical survey is the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Detection and analysis of the geophysical signals forms the core of Geophysical signal processing. The magnetic and gravitational fields emanating from the ...

and 3D sampling at the seabed in a depth up to . The vessel features a

remotely operated underwater vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other g ...

(ROV), which can perform observations and sampling at a depth up to . Additional equipment allows survey of

ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, sh ...

and analysis of physical, chemical and biological properties with the help of a CTD device for conductivity, temperature and depth. The vessel features a 12 t-capacity

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

for a helicopter suitable for day/night landing and take off.

Controversies

On August 13, 2020, Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

announced that any attack on ''Oruç Reis'' will incur a "high price" and suggested that Turkey had already acted on that warning. This comes after unconfirmed reports that the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

frigate collided with one of the ships of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

that were escorting ''Oruç Reis'', which resumed drilling operations near

Kastellorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of R ...

on August 10 after suspending its work in July.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MTA Oruc reis Ships built in Istanbul 2015 ships Research vessels of Turkey

Characteristics

Controversies

See also

References