Turkish Ship Sets Sail for Gas Search Off Cyprus

A Turkish seismic ship set sail Friday for gas exploration off Cyprus, live television footage showed.

The ship "Piri Reis" departed from a local port in the Aegean province of Izmir, in an apparent response to a move by Greek Cypriots to press ahead with offshore gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean.

Regional tensions are rising as the Cyprus government, recognized internationally but not by Turkey, has made a deal with U.S. energy firm Noble, which has started exploratory drilling for gas off the south coast.

Turkey Monday threatened to start its own oil and gas exploration with military escort in retaliation.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, urged the United Nations to convince the Cypriot government in Nicosia to stop their offshore explorations, the Anatolia news agency reported Friday.