“Our Fatih drilling ship will cross the Bosphorus on 29 May and go to the Black Sea for a new drilling,” Erdoğan stated.

The country will proceed with its Mediterranean business strategy as planned, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on May 14, stating that for the first time in the Black Sea, in July, deep drilling will begin with Fatih.

The minister also said Fatih's next destination will be the Black Sea after finishing technological arrangements in Istanbul, adding that they took all precautions against COVID-19 to shield their crew from it. The 229-meter long (751-foot) vessel weighing 5,283 gross tons will drill to a maximum depth of 40,000 feet.

The Fatih vessel used by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) had been engaged in Mediterranean drilling activities.

Turkish-flagged drilling vessels began drilling operations offshore in areas off Cyprus 's coast in May 2019.

Turkey has repeatedly opposed the coercive fracking by the Greek Cypriot government in the eastern Mediterranean, arguing that Turkish Cyprus still has access to the area's energy. 

Because of the unpredictability of foreign markets after the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. company ExxonMobil has set its exploration plans off the coast of Cyprus on pause from 13 April.

A consortium formed by Italian group ENI and French company Total has already postponed drilling programs for the proposed three wells in 2020 and six wells in the next two years.

Maritime Business World