Türkiye has issued a counter-NAVTEX challenging a Greek navigational notice for the Eunomia military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean, in waters overlapping the planned route of an undersea electricity cable.
The Turkish notice, issued on Oct. 16, said the area falls within the responsibility of the Antalya station, disputing the authority of Greece’s Heraklion station to issue navigation warnings there.
The exercise brings together Greece, Greek Cyprus, France and Italy and is scheduled to run from Oct. 16 to 22.
Its Oct. 19 phase includes live-fire and air and naval drills in waters east of the Greek islands of Kasos and Karpathos and west of Cyprus.
Greek media highlighted the overlap with the proposed Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), which would link Greece to Greek Cyprus, with a later extension to Israel.
Ankara says part of the cable route crosses its continental shelf. The area also saw a confrontation between Turkish and Greek naval vessels over cable surveys in 2024.
Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said Athens would not seek Türkiye’s permission for the project.
“We are proceeding as planned, with the participation of major international companies and the full support of the United States,” he said.
The Greek government said French contractor Nexans had submitted its applications for seabed surveys only to Greek authorities and that no agreement had been reached with another country.
Ankara is seeking diplomatic coordination with France, as the survey vessel’s flag state, before work begins along sections of the route where Türkiye asserts continental shelf rights.
The French-flagged vessel Abeille Marengo is expected to carry out the surveys, mapping the seabed to determine the cable’s route.
