Turkey issues new navtex, giving consent for GSI surveys

Turkey’s directorate-general of coastal safety on Tuesday night issued a navtex, a message used to transmit information to seaborne vessels, to warn sailors of planned seabed surveys in the seas between Cyprus and Crete as part of the Great Sea Interconnector project, effectively giving Turkish consent for them and the project at large. The navtex reads that “maritime scientific research supporting submarine cable laying will be conducted along two specified lines within the Turkish navtex service area and the Turkish continental shelf”, and confirmed that the French research vessel the Abeille Marengo will be conducting the surveys. It warned all other boats to keep more than two miles clear of the ship, and said that it will be in force until March 20 next year. The navtex brings to an end a months-long saga over whether or not Turkey would disrupt the construction of the interconnector, which, if completed, will connect the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, and comes after the French government had directly informed Ankara of the plans last week. Related Articles • Papastavrou: The only country which gave permission for GSI navtex is Greece • Greece’s Papastavrou says GSI is ‘proceeding with a plan’ • Future of GSI ‘being handled away from public eye’, Christodoulides says • Turkey’s Fidan: No objection to GSI surveys, but send us a written notification • Cypriots stress energy as MEPs discuss Mediterranean pact After this, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis stressed that the communication “does not constitute recognition” of Turkey’s claim to the seas in which the surveys are due to take place, and that the formal request for permission to conduct the surveys was only sent to the governments of Greece and Cyprus. A Greek navtex had initially been issued for the project last Friday, prompting a swift response from Turkey’s foreign ministry, which declared that “a French-flagged vessel intends to conduct an unlawful marine scientific research activity in connection with unauthorised cable-laying on the Turkish continental shelf”. “The unauthorised navigational warnings issued by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration of southern Cyprus to this end have been cancelled by Turkey,” it said. Fidan had said Turkey would not object if it was informed in advance Previously, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had said that his country would not object to the undertaking of seabed surveys between Crete and Cyprus, provided that it is provided with a written notification of the plans in advance. “We do not raise any objections. We discussed it with [Greek] Prime Minister Mitsotakis and [French] President Macron. My president raised the issue in New York during his meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis,” he said last month. He added that during those discussions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had “described the project as remarkable” but had gone on to say that “I would prefer you to buy electricity from us rather than transporting it from a distance of 2,000 kilometres and spending over €2 billion of European funds”. “I can provide from a distance of just 70 miles from mainland Turkey water, electricity, and natural gas, from which everyone, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, and the entire population, can benefit,” he said. Turkey, Greece disagree over whether islands generate full EEZ The issue is sourced in the ongoing dispute between Greece and Turkey over who owns the seas between Cyprus and Crete, which itself is sourced in the question of whether islands are entitled to a full exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Greece and Cyprus, citing the United Nations convention on the law of the sea (Unclos), stating that they do, while Turkey, which is not a signatory to Unclos, stating 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.