Turkey sends off new drill ship into eastern Mediterranean

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president has inaugurated the country’s newest and largest undersea hydrocarbon drill ship that he said would head for a spot northwest of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, which is not claimed by any other country. “Our exploration and drilling in the Mediterranean is within our own sovereign dominion,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at Tuesday’s ceremony in southern Mersin province, only to add: “We don’t need to seek permission or ratification from anyone.” Turkey is embroiled in acrimonious disputes with Greece and Cyprus over maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights, which triggered high tensions in the eastern Mediterranean two years ago.