Türkiye has dispatched a naval task force to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to provide logistical support and help secure upcoming offshore energy operations, as Ankara prepares to launch its first overseas deepwater drilling mission.
The Defense Ministry said the task group — TCG Sancaktar, TCG Gökova and TCG Bafra — will operate between Jan. 30 and Feb. 25 in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia and in the Arabian Sea. The ministry said the deployment will support the Turkish-Somali Task Force Command, help transport military assistance by sea and back the research and drilling activity of the Çağrı Bey vessel in Somali maritime jurisdictions.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said Türkiye will send the Çağrı Bey to Somalia in February for the country’s first deepwater exploration project abroad. The operation will focus on offshore areas in Somali waters, following a 2024 energy exploration deal between Ankara and Mogadishu.
Bayraktar has also said the planned well would involve drilling in waters around 3,480 meters deep, before extending several kilometers further below the seabed.
The naval move builds on a 10-year “Defense and Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement” signed in February 2024, which envisages Turkish support for maritime security and capacity-building in Somalia.
Earlier, Türkiye’s Oruç Reis seismic vessel completed a 3D survey across three offshore blocks covering 4,464 square kilometers, a data Ankara says will guide future exploration.
The deepening partnership comes amid heightened regional tensions after Israel recognized Somaliland on Dec. 26, 2025 — a move Türkiye condemned.
Somaliland is a self-declared state that broke away from Somalia in 1991 and has long sought international recognition.
Separately, Somali officials said three Turkish F-16s landed in Mogadishu on Jan. 28, as Somalia steps up operations against the al-Shabab militant group, though Ankara has not publicly detailed the deployment.
