The pipeline consists of three main parts. The route comprises a 222 mile section in Russia from Izobilnoye to Dzhugba on the Black Sea Coast (the Russian onshore section) a 235 mile section on the bottom of the Black Sea connecting Dzhugba to Samsun on the Turkish coast (submarine section) and a further 300 mile link from Samsun to Ankara (Turkish onshore section). The pipelines consist of a pair of 24 inch OD steel lines with a wall thickness of 31.8 mm. The shallow water sections in waters of up to 380 m were installed by the Castoro Otto. The deep water sections of up to 2,150m were installed using the J-lay method by the crane vessel Saipem. In October 2002, construction on the pipeline was completed and natural gas supplies through the Blue Stream began in February 2003. The flow of natural gas will gradually reach 16 billion m³ in accordance with Natural Gas Purchase Sale Agreement.