RV ''K. Piri Reis'' (full name ''Koca Piri Reis'') is a Turkish multi-purpose

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

Dokuz Eylül University Dokuz Eylül University () (DEÜ) is a Public university, public research university in İzmir, Turkey. Founded in 1982, it is organized into 18 faculties. It holds the distinction of being the first university in Turkey to implement the probl ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

and operated by its Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology. Built in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and launched in 1978, she was named in honor of the Ottoman naval captain and renowned

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

Piri Reis.

Characteristics

''K. Piri Reis'' was built in June 1978 at the Schiffswerft Diedrich Oldersum in

. She is long, with a beam of and a draught of . Assessed at and 87 NT, the ship is propelled by a MWM Suddeutsche Brimsen AG MWM TD 602 V12

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

. She has a speed of in service. The ship's crew consists of 10 seamen, and she carries 11 scientists aboard. ''K. Piri Reis'' has an autonomous endurance of 20 days.

Scientific work

The ship is equipped with modern instruments and a laboratory to carry out research work in various fields like

oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

, undersea geology,

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

for oil and gas exploration and earthquake engineering.

Political dimension of her activity

The research activities performed by the vessel have sometimes beside its scientific and economic dimensions also political extent with diplomatic or military tone. She was sent in 1987 to

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

after Greece announced that it will start oil and gas exploration in the region. As Greece declared to intervene, Turkey responded that this would be cause of war. The tension calmed down later with mediation efforts of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and the United States.

2011 Eastern Mediterranean mission

Following the decision of the

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

government to start an initiative for oil and gas exploration 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 ...

, Turkey signed an agreement with

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

to do the same within Northern Cyprus'

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

. For this purpose, ''K. Piri Reis'', which was commissioned by the Turkish government to conduct research work, departed on September 23, 2011 from its homeport in Urla,

İzmir Province İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...

and headed for

Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:K. Piri Reis Research vessels of Turkey 1978 ships Ships built in Germany Dokuz Eylül University Piri Reis

Characteristics

Scientific work

Political dimension of her activity

2011 Eastern Mediterranean mission

See also

References