RV Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa

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RV Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa is a Turkish seismographic survey ship owned by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). It was built in Dubai for the company Polarcus and launched in 2011 as Polarcus Samur. The Bahamas flag was used at first, and the ship worked on missions near Namibia. In December 2012, Turkey bought the vessel for about $130 million and renamed it after the famous Ottoman admiral Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha. After repainting and reflagging to Turkey, it was commissioned in February 2013. The ship is designed for 2D and 3D marine seismic surveys and can tow long cables (up to eight 6,000 m streams or six 8,000 m streams). It is 84.2 m long, 17 m wide, and 6.7 m deep, with a gross tonnage of 4,711 and net tonnage of 1,414. It has four diesel-electric engines providing about 3,060 kW each and a top speed of 17 knots. It carries a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter on a helideck and carries no weapons. It operates from Istanbul and works mainly in the Black Sea region, with later surveys planned in the Mediterranean for oil and gas exploration. The ship is Arctic-ready and designed to be fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly.