Turkey Deploys Research Vessel in Disputed Aegean Zone

Tensions in the Aegean escalated on Monday after Turkey issued a navigational advisory (NAVTEX) announcing that its oceanographic vessel Piri Reis will conduct research in contested waters for ten days, beginning September 15.

The Turkish NAVTEX, published via the Izmir station, outlines planned activity in a broad zone stretching west of Lesbos, south of Chios, and near the small island of Kalogeros, situated between Chios and Andros. The mission is set to run through September 25.

Greece reacted immediately, with the Hellenic Navy’s hydrographic service issuing a counter-NAVTEX from its station on Lemnos. Athens stressed that several of the coordinates in the Turkish notice fall within Greek jurisdiction, and officials confirmed they are closely monitoring the vessel’s movements.

The presence of the Piri Reis near Kalogeros is viewed as particularly sensitive. The area is regularly designated as a live-fire training zone by the Greek Armed Forces, a practice that Ankara has long criticized.

Diplomatic sources in Athens noted that while the Piri Reis is technically capable of carrying out such surveys, the operation raises “serious questions of jurisdiction and sovereignty,” since much of the vessel’s declared route passes through Greece’s continental shelf and close to its territorial waters.

Questions have also been raised over the legality of the Turkish NAVTEX itself, since responsibility for issuing such advisories in the area belongs to the Greek station on Lemnos, not Izmir.

The timing of Ankara’s move is notable: it comes just days after U.S. energy giant Chevron submitted a formal proposal for exploration south of Crete, despite Turkey’s objections and its contested maritime memorandum with Libya. It also coincides with renewed discussions over the planned electricity interconnection between Greece and Cyprus.

Source: tovima.com