MTA “Turkuaz” Launched to the Sea
Following Turkey’s very first Seismic Research Vessel “Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa”, MTA “Turkuaz” was been completely manufactured with national resources and capacities was launched to the sea at Istanbul Shipyard, shipbuilding yard at Tuzla with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Bülent Arınç, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Taner Yıldız, high ranking commanders of Naval Forces Command, representatives from the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, MTA and Istanbul Shipyard.
Taner Yıldız: “MTA Turkuaz will be conducting explorations from the poles to the oceans”
In his speech at the ceremony, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Mr.Taner Yıldız mentioned that Turkey’s mineral researches reduced after the “Piri Reis” and “Selen” ships, yet with the procurement of “Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa”, they regained importance and reminded that all naval research regarding naval mineral resources gained momentum in Turkey, a country that is surrounded by the seas. Minister Mr. Yıldız stated that they were familiar with the mineral research conducted in the seas of the countries such as India, France, Singapore, China and England and added that India and China started searching for copper deployed merely in electrical installations.
Mr. Yıldız mentioned that more than a $200 million budget was allocated to the issues regarding the mineral explorations by Japan, and said that explorations for zinc and all other metallic mines for utilization in the technological parts of the mobile phones, laptops and hybrid cars were continued. Yıldız mentioned that the current mineral research performed at sea were conducted by approximately 20 countries in the world. Mr.Yıldız continued, “MTA Turkuaz will not only conduct the mineral research in our seas but also join the studies with other countries” and underlined that the vessel will be performing services at the exploration activity locations with new partners in all seas, from the poles to the oceans.
Mr.Yıldız explained that the aforementioned vessel will be contributing to a wide variety of fields from the identification of the fault lines that cause earthquakes and to scientific studies regarding the pollution rates of the deep seas and added, “This is an indicator of the capacityof our shipyards. With the good news that we will be receiving from our seas – we have not received yet, if we come across gas or natural gas, hopefully we will be establishing the drilling platform in such shipyards”. Following the speeches and ribbon cutting, MTA Turkuaz was launched to the sea with applauds and sirens.
MTA “Turkuaz” will be assuming critical tasks
Considering the strategic dimension of the seismic, natural gas and oil explorations, MTA “Turkuaz” assuming an important task in order to search for economic assets, is preparing to fill an important gap for Turkey with its operation capabilities.
With its modern scientific equipment, MTA “Turkuaz” will be performing the search for natural resources first within Turkey’s maritime jurisdiction and then in world seas in addition to providing comprehensive information and infrastructural services in various disciplines and on the identification of geological structures on the ground and their continuity at sea, earthquakes, climate change, sea pollution and ecological researchand underwater engineering studies.
All institutions and universities will be able to make use of MTA “Turkuaz” Seismic Research Vessel. Turkey aims to achieve important acquisitions. In particular, eliminating the difficulties emerging from studies conducted by vessels with foreign flags and reducing foreign dependency is aimed.
MTA “Turkuaz” Research Vessel has the same sizes with the “Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa” vessel at Turkish Petroleum Corporation’s (TPAO) inventory and also has the same seismic research capacity. Additionally, it is equipped with marine magnetometer, seabed detailed imaging and mapping systems, remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) system and with equipment that is capable of conducting sampling and measurements from the seabed and a laboratory. The scientific research equipment and systems of MTA “Turkuaz” Seismic Research Vessel that was built with national resources were supplied by Aselsan (Main Subcontractor). Within the scope of the project, Aselsan will also be executing the integrated logistical support activities related to the aforementioned systems after the delivery. Within this framework, the maintenance and repair activities of the scientific exploration equipment and systems are aimed to be accomplished in Turkey as well.
