Greece and Cyprus have issued separate maritime warnings rejecting Turkey’s claims of authority over seabed surveys for the Great Sea Interconnector, escalating a diplomatic dispute as a French research vessel begins operations for the electricity cable linking Crete and Cyprus.
The latest development came Wednesday, November 11, when Cyprus issued a counter-NAVTEX declaring that the Turkish announcement concerning the Abeille Marengo had not been coordinated with the competent Cypriot authorities. The move followed a similar Greek response overnight, after Ankara asserted that the vessel’s research activities were being conducted with Turkish consent.
The confrontation comes as the French-flagged vessel, operating on behalf of cable manufacturer Nexans, departed Heraklion on Tuesday evening and began preliminary technical preparations. Its expected movement toward international waters south of Kasos and Karpathos has renewed concerns about a possible confrontation in an area where Turkish naval intervention disrupted similar research activities in July 2024.
Cyprus and Greece reject Ankara’s claims of jurisdiction
Cyprus issued its maritime warning, numbered 352/26, at 6 a.m. UTC Wednesday through the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Larnaca. According to the official notice, the vessel’s operations within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf have already been authorized under permit 05/2026 and announced through an earlier navigational warning, 345/26.
Nicosia stressed that the Larnaca station is the sole authority responsible for issuing maritime warnings within Cyprus’ designated NAVTEX area. The counter-notice will remain in effect until March 20, 2027.
Hours earlier, Greece issued counter-NAVTEX 1441/26 through its Heraklion station, rejecting Turkey’s announcement as unauthorized. The Greek Hydrographic Service maintained that a significant portion of the survey area lies within Greece’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf and reaffirmed the validity of its original maritime notice.
Turkey’s warning, numbered 1127/26, had been issued Tuesday evening, shortly after the French vessel departed Crete. Ankara claimed that the surveys concerned areas of its continental shelf and that the activities had been coordinated with Turkish authorities.
According to Euronews Türkiye, Turkey bases its position on maritime boundaries communicated to the United Nations in March 2020, asserting that research in areas it claims requires its consent.
Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou responded in Parliament that Turkey had effectively granted permission nobody had requested. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis reiterated Wednesday that only Greece and Cyprus had received applications for authorization, describing the Turkish notice as irrelevant to the vessel’s operations.
Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis adopted a similar position, telling the Cyprus Mail that no request for permission had been submitted to Ankara.
French vessel approaches sensitive waters near Kasos
The Abeille Marengo left Heraklion at approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and began calibrating its survey equipment in Greek territorial waters before proceeding eastward.
The initial technical preparations are expected to take approximately 24 to 48 hours. The vessel is subsequently scheduled to head toward waters southeast of Karpathos and south of Kasos, where it will conduct seabed mapping necessary for the installation of the electricity cable. The location is particularly sensitive because Turkish warships challenged the activities of the Italian research vessel Ievoli Relume near Kasos in July 2024, contributing to the suspension of survey operations.
The Great Sea Interconnector, estimated to cost approximately €1.9 billion, is a European Union Project of Common Interest designed to connect Cyprus to the European electricity grid through Greece. The European Commission has approved €657 million in financial support.
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