Turkey's drillship Fatih begins drilling in Black Sea

By Busranur Begcecanli

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's first drillship, Fatih, will begin drilling in the Tuna-1 location in the Black Sea, according to Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez on Monday.

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

Fatih's 103-meter-long towers were disassembled in the Haydarpasa 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 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.