Turkish F-16 warplanes saluted the country’s second drillship en-route to the East Mediterranean, sending a message to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who warned Ankara last week of consequences if it continued its current course of action.
The Yavuz vessel will begin hydrocarbon explorations off the coast of the Cyprus Island in early July.
Turkey already has a drilling ship, Fatih, working in the region. Fatih vessel is operating in waters west of Cyprus Island while Yavuz will operate in the east.
Turkey has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying Turkish Cypriots also have rights to the resources in the area and Ankara has the right to hydrocarbon drilling as well.
The Turkish-flagged drillship Fatih launched offshore drilling operations on May 3 this year in an area located 75 kilometers (42 nautical miles) off the western coast of Cyprus island.
The area falls entirely within the Turkish continental shelf registered with the UN and under permit licenses the Turkish government in previous years granted to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, the country's national oil company.
Turkey wants to see energy as an incentive for a political resolution on the island and peace in the wider Mediterranean basin rather than a catalyst for further tensions.
Yavuz, which has a full-spectrum capability for offshore drilling, came from Malaysia to Turkey in February.
It generates its electricity from diesel fuel generators with a capacity of 42 megawatts and has 7.5 million liters of fuel capacity.
Yavuz, whose construction was completed in 2011, previously worked in different countries, such as in Tanzania, Kenya, Malaysia and the Philippines.
