Türkiye has issued a Navtex, a legal advisory message to mariners, for seismic surveys in the Mediterranean as part of preparations for a planned natural gas pipeline linking it with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (RNC), a report said on Wednesday.

The Oruç Reis seismic research vessel will conduct surveys along the planned pipeline route until Aug. 30, Bloomberg News reported.

Earlier this month, Türkiye and the TRNC signed an agreement to begin work on the gas pipeline that would run beneath the Mediterranean Sea.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the pipeline would be 101 kilometers long, with 97 kilometers running offshore and four kilometers on land.

The pipeline, designed as a two-way system, would connect Mersin's Anamur district on Türkiye's southern coast with the Teknecik area east of the coastal city Girne, also known as Kyrenia, in the TRNC.

Bayraktar said the infrastructure could initially supply natural gas to the TRNC, while also creating a potential route for transporting future gas discoveries from the Eastern Mediterranean and neighboring countries to Türkiye and eventually Europe.