Türkiye’s underwater construction vessel, "Mukavemet," which was meant to operate as part of landing 710 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas discovered in the Black Sea, temporarily paused its duties at the Sakarya Gas Field to deliver aid for earthquake victims in the 10 provinces impacted by the recent 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes.

The ship, named after the Turkish Resistance Organization, collected basic supplies from ports in Zonguldak’s Filyos, Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa and Çanakkale’s Kepez, loading 16 trucks and construction equipment to transport to the disaster-hit area.

The ship reached Iskenderun Port in Hatay after a five-day voyage.

Welcoming the ship, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez received information from the captain and crew about the delivery of aid.

Dönmez told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Mukavemet is the latest member of Türkiye's energy fleet.

"Mukavemet is one of our ships that has been induced into service in the past few months, constructing underwater structures related to natural gas drills in the Black Sea. We sent most of our equipment and personnel to the earthquake-hit zone due to the disaster. Accordingly, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and some of our organizations in cooperation with it, are working in the region," he noted.

"They have loaded the needs of the earthquake survivors, such as shelters, tents and medical supplies, on this ship along with 16 trucks," said Dönmez.

He stated that the construction equipment brought by ship will be used in search and rescue and removal of debris at the sites of destroyed buildings.