Turkey's drillship Fatih begins drilling in Black Sea

Turkey's first drillship, Fatih, will begin drilling in the Tuna-1 location in the Black Sea, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on July 20. The Fatih drilling vessel set sail for the Black Sea on May 29 from Istanbul to the Trabzon port where it reached its destination for reassembly on June 6.

Duvar English - Anadolu Agency

Turkey's first drillship, Fatih, will begin drilling in the Tuna-1 location in the Black Sea, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on July 20.

"We will search every square meter of our seas for Turkey's energy independence," Dönmez wrote on Twitter.

Fatih's 103-meter-long towers were disassembled in the Haydarpaşa port in Istanbul to enable safe passage of the vessel under the bridges through the Bosphorus before its journey to the Black Sea.

The Fatih drilling vessel set sail for the Black Sea on May 29 from Istanbul to the Trabzon port where it reached its destination for reassembly on June 6.

Energy Deputy Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced plans to drill in the Black Sea earlier in the year as part of the ministry’s aim to bolster the country’s energy independence by using local natural resources.