Countdown to first mission of Türkiye's Abdulhamid Han drill ship begins

By Nuran Erkul Kaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - The countdown to the first mission of Türkiye's Abdulhamid Han drill ship has begun, as it sets sail from the port city of Mersin on Aug. 9 to its destination in the Mediterranean.

Operated by the state energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO),

Abdulhamid Han will be subject to final controls before it starts its journey from the Mersin Tasucu port in the Mediterranean, TPAO confirmed in a Twitter post.

The fourth drill ship in Türkiye's fleet, consisting of Fatih, Kanuni and Yavuz, has a crew capacity of 200.

The vessel is one of five seventh-generation ships in the world, with a maximum drilling depth of 12,200 meters (40,026 ft.).

It is 238 meters (780 feet) long, has a width of 42 meters (137 ft), a tower height of 104 meters (341 ft) and weighs 68,000 gross tons.