Μake us preferred on Google In its warning, Ankara demands the cancellation of the Greek NAVTEX, claiming that parts of the designated survey area fall within Turkey’s continental shelf as declared to the United
Turkey issued a counter-NAVTEX just minutes after Greece published its navigational warning authorizing the French research vessel Abeille Marengo to conduct seabed surveys for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), the electricity link between Greece and Cyprus.
In its warning, Ankara demands the cancellation of the Greek NAVTEX, claiming that parts of the designated survey area fall within Turkey’s continental shelf, as declared to the United Nations in March 2020. It also says that Turkish authorities have not authorized the research activities and insists that all operations in what it considers its maritime jurisdiction must be coordinated with Ankara.
The Turkish counter-NAVTEX, issued under reference TURNHOS 1105/26, states:
TURNHOS N/W : 1105/26 MEDITERRANEAN SEA 1. SOME PART OF AREA PROMULGATED WITH NAVTEX NR. HA15-1411/26 IS WITHIN TURKISH CONTINENTAL SHELF DECLARED TO UNITED NATIONS, ON 18 MARCH 2020 WITH REF NR. A/74/757. 2. TURKISH AUTHORITIES HAS NOT ISSUED CONSENT FOR THE RESEARCH ACTIVITY REFERRED IN UNAUTHORIZED MESSAGE IN REFERENCE. 3. ALL RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN TURKISH MARITIME JURISDICTION AREA MUST BE COORDINATED WITH RELEVANT TURKISH AUTHORITIES. 4. CANCEL THIS MESSAGE 062200Z MAR 27.The warning effectively challenges Greece’s authority to authorize the surveys and asserts that Turkish consent is required for activities in the areas claimed by Ankara. Turkey bases its position partly on the 2019 Turkish-Libyan maritime memorandum, which Greece rejects as unlawful and without legal effect on its maritime entitlements.
Greece issued its NAVTEX on Friday following completion of the licensing procedures by the competent Greek authorities.
Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis authorized the surveys and cable-laying operations after a positive recommendation from the relevant interministerial committee, following an application by French cable manufacturer Nexans on behalf of GSI. The authorization covers operations from Nov. 6, 2026, to March 6, 2027, along a route extending from southeastern Crete toward the waters east of Rhodes and south of the Dodecanese islands in the southeast Aegean.
