No confirmation of reports of navtex for interconnector surveys

Neither the government of Greece, nor the government of Cyprus offered any confirmation or denial of reports that they intend to issue a navtex, a message used to transmit information to seaborne vessels, informing ships between Cyprus and Crete that they intend to commence seabed surveys ahead of the laying of cables for the Great Sea Interconnector. The reports first appeared in Greek news website euro2day.gr and were reproduced by Cypriot business news website Stockwatch, but while the Cyprus Mail contacted the defence, energy, and foreign ministries of both Cyprus and Greece, as well as the Cypriot shipping deputy ministry, not one of the seven ministries could confirm or deny the reports. Reports regarding the possibility of the issuing of a navtex come a day after French asset management firm Meridiam took a majority share in the interconnector project, which, if completed, will link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece and Israel. Meridiam took a controlling share in the project from Greece’s independent transmission system operator (Admie), with former Cypriot energy minister George Papanastasiou saying that the buyout will “of course help” the project’s future. Related Articles • French asset management firm Meridiam takes majority share in interconnector • Mitsotakis after Meridiam buy-in: Interconnector will end Cyprus’ energy isolation • GSI costs will not automatically raise power bills, says former CERA chief “It is very good news. This is a fund which is viable joining a project which was looking for financiers,” he told the Cyprus Mail. However, while the buy-in may offer the project a renewed impetus, plans to issue a navtex and conduct seabed surveys could bring about geopolitical issues, given that the waters in which the surveys would likely take place are claimed by Turkey as part of its “Blue Homeland” doctrine, known as the “Mavi Vatan” in Turkish. These conflicting claims have impeded attempts to carry out seabed surveys between Cyprus and Greece before, with Turkish naval vessels being deployed in 2024 after the Italian research vessel the Ievoli Reulme strayed into what Turkey believes to be its own waters. The naval vessels escorted the research ship away from Turkey, but not before Greece, too, dispatched a number of its own naval vessels, including the frigates the Nikiforos Fokas and the Aittitos to the area. In response, the European Commission said that it “continues to expect Turkey to unequivocally commit to and promote good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of disputes”. The dispute about the ownership of the waters stems from the question of whether islands generate their own exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or not. Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, citing the United Nations convention on the law of the sea (Unclos), state that they do, while Turkey, which is not a signatory to Unclos, states that they do not. As such, according to Turkey’s position, beyond the 12 nautical miles of territorial waters to which Turkey believes both islands are entitled, the sea between Cyprus and Crete is Turkish. By contrast, the position held by Greece and by the Republic of Cyprus is that, given that islands generate a full EEZ, the EEZs of Greece and Cyprus border one another south of Kastellorizo, Greece’s easternmost inhabited island. It was this dispute which has been one of the factors slowing progress on the interconnector, with Finance Minister Makis Keravnos having said last year that Turkey’s presence in the region had limited the progress made on the project so far. He said that the degree to which the project has been implemented “is directly linked to geopolitical risk”, and that while this “geopolitical risk” was “known from the start”, it has now become “one of the reasons, perhaps the most serious” behind the lack of progress. “It is Turkey’s intervention, to speak very seriously and clearly, which does not allow for the seabed surveys to be completed and for the interconnection to proceed,” he said.