The Pioneering Spirit vessel, which will carry out the construction of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline's offshore section, arrived at the Dardanelles Strait early Tuesday, according to the ship's Swiss owner, Allseas.

Officials from Allseas told Anadolu Agency that the vessel's final destination would be Anapa on the northern Black Sea coast in Russia where the first pipe laying for the TurkStream project will begin. The 382-meter-long and 124-meter-wide vessel is expected to arrive in Anapa on June 2.

Shipping data revealed that the ship, which sails under a Maltese flag, departed from the Netherlands on May 13.

TurkSteam pipes will start from Anapa and will be laid over a 900-kilometers route under the Black Sea to reach the Thrace region of Turkey on the Black Sea coast.

Currently the Audacia pipe-laying vessel is carrying out construction near Anapa. The Pioneering Spirit will continue construction in deeper parts of the Black Sea.

The TurkStream pipeline is a transit-free export gas pipeline which will not only stretch across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey but is planned to extend as far as Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.

One line is expected to supply the Turkish market, while a second line will carry gas to southern and southeastern Europe. Each line will have the throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year.