FATIH is the first Turkish owned and Flagged (TUR) Drillship . She’s a a sixth generation ultra deepwater drillship owned and operated by the Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi (TPAO).
She was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan at South Korea at a cost of nearly US$ 860 million, and launched on 25 November 2011 as DEEPSEA METRO II of which she was owned by Chloe Marine of Hamilton at Bermuda and was operated by Odfjell Drilling sailing under a Marshall Islands (MHL) flag until 2018. Early 2012, she sailed to South Africa to undergo modifications at the DCD-Dorbyl Marine shipyard in Cape Town.
From May 2012, she was active offshore Brazil working for Petrobras. The three-year contract valued at US$ 531 million. In May 2015, the work concluded with the ship stacked at Venezuela because no other orders were received for her service. In March 2016, she was sold to Chalfont Shipping Ltd. for US$ 210 million.
End 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”).
Meanwhile during June 2019 the Cyprus Government confirmed that it has issued warrant arrests for the crewmembers of the drillship that is currently operating within the Cyprus EEZ Area. Turkey disputes the maritime boundary and claims that is is operating on its own continental shelf.
Interesting to see that 3 supply ships that are working with her are all former Norwegian of the same company – Siem Offshore A/S.
Currently operating from Antalya the Offshore Platform Vessel (OSV) SANCAR the former SOPHIE SIEM was spotted working with the drillship –
Also the PSV ALTAN the former SIEM SASHA –
And the PSV KORKUT the former SIEM LOUISE –
Photos by Capt. Lawrence Dalli. Do not use these images without my permission. © All rights reserved. Malta Ship Photos & Action Photos – www.maltashipphotos.com
