ANKARA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey sent a frigate on Thursday to monitor the Greek Cypriot ship which is drilling for oil and gas off the island, Turkish military said.
The Greek Cypriot "West Capella" ship has been evaluated as being capable of drilling activities, the military said in a statement.
The "West Capella" drilling vessel, contracted by France's Total and Italy's ENI, moved into position to start exploring for gas off Greek Cyprus on Wednesday, Greek Cyprus's Energy Ministry said in a statement.
The "Onesiphoros West 1" well is estimated to be completed within 75 days, it added.
The move came days after the peace talks failed between the two sides of the divided island.
Greek Cyprus issued a Navtex advisory last month to inform shipping in the area that drilling work would run from July 10 until early October.
Cyprus was divided into a Turkish-Cypriot state in the north and a Greek-Cypriot administration in the south after an 1974 military coup. The status of the island remains unresolved despite a series of talks that resumed in May 2015.
