Turkey may acquire a third drillship, Erdogan says

Turkey may acquire a third drillship, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been quoted as saying amid lingering tension in the Eastern Mediterranean over natural gas resources off ethnically-divided Cyprus.

“If today we have a say in the gas exploration developments, we owe it all to our drillships and seismic survey ships, Erdogan was quoted as telling a meeting of his Justice and Development party (AKP) on Thursday.

After noting that Turkey already has two drillships in its possession (Fatih and Yavuz) and two seismic survey vessels (Barbaros and Oruc Reis), the Turkish strongman reportedly added that “a third drillship might also be acquired.”

“Our ships are in the area. All our frigates are near them. Our airplanes are ready at any moment,” Erdogan was quoted as saying. “No one can impose themselves on Turkey.”