Fatih (drillship)

Fatih means "Conqueror" in Turkish.

The three drillships of the state-owned Turkish gas company, Fatih, Yavuz and Kanuni, are named after the most famous conquerors and rulers of the Ottoman Empire: Mehmed I (r. 1444-1446, 1451-1481), Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered Constantinople; Selim I (r. 1512-1520), known as Selim the Resolute, Turkish: Yavuz Sultan Selim, who hugely expanded his empire; and Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566), known in Turkish as Kanunî Sultan Süleyman ("the Lawgiver"), under whom the empire reached its apex.

Fatih was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea at a cost of nearly US$ 860 million,[1][2] and launched on 25 November 2011.[3][4] Initially named Deepsea Metro II, she was owned by Chloe Marine in Hamilton, Bermuda and was operated by Odfjell Drilling in Bergen, Norway, sailing under a Marshall Islands flag until 2018.[4] In early 2012, she sailed to South Africa to undergo modifications at the DCD-Dorbyl Marine shipyard in Cape Town.[3]

From May 2012, she was active offshore Brazil for Petrobras. The three-year contract valued at US$ 531 million.[1][3] In May 2015, the work concluded. The drill was stacked on the Curaçao island, Venezuela because no other orders were received for her service.[1][2]

In March 2016, she was sold to Chalfont Shipping Ltd. for US$ 210 million.[1][2]

At the end of 2017, she was purchased by the Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO), a company of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and renamed Fatih ("Conqueror").[5][6][7] Fatih is expected to carry out deepwater drilling for petroleum and natural gas in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. She is Turkey's first drillship.[6][8] After completing the preparation works, she was commissioned in May 2018 to carry out drilling work in the Mediterranean Sea.[5][9]

The sixth generation ultra deepwater drillship is 229.19 m (751.9 ft) long,[1] with a beam of 36 m (118 ft) and a draught of 16.1 m (53 ft). Assessed at 51,283 GT and 34,256 DWT, she has a maximum speed of 8.6 kn (15.9 km/h) and a speed of 7.2 kn (13.3 km/h) in service.[4][10] The vessel is able to carry out drilling at a sea depth up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m) and has a maximum drill depth of 40,000 ft (12,000 m).[1][7][8]

Following her arrival in Turkey, the vessel was equipped with Managed Pressure Drilling system after she was maintained.[11] The drilling works of the vessel are supported by an in-Turkey-developed remotely operated underwater vehicle Kaşif.[12]

The vessel was commissioned on 29 October 2018 for deep-sea drilling at Alanya-1 field in Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Later, she was deployed to Finike-1 field in the same sea.[11]

For drilling in Black Sea, the vessel passed through Bosphorus northwards on 29 May 2020 to Tuna-1 field.[13] On 21 August 2020, it was announced that a natural gas reserve of 320 km³ (77 cu mi) was explored at the field she has been conducting drilling 170 km (110 mi) off Zonguldak since 20 July.[11] Mid October 2020, it was announced that an additional gas reserve of 85 km³ (20 cu mi) was explored at 4,445 m (14,583 ft) depth. The total reserve explored at Tuna-1 field amounts so to 405 km³ (97 cu mi).[12]

• Yavuz (ex Deepsea Metro I), sister ship and Turkey's second drillship (2018)
• Kanuni (ex Sertao), Turkey's third drillship (2020)
• Abdülhamid Han (ex Cobalt Explorer), Turkey's fourth drillship (2021)