Turkish navy stops Greek frigate ‘harassment’ in Mediterranean

TURKEY’S state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday that the navy had stopped a Greek frigate from harassing a Turkish ship in the Mediterranean. It did not give further details.

The ship Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa was carrying out seismic research activity, Turkey’s foreign ministry said earlier.

It also said Turkey would continue to exercise its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its continental shelf.

“We recommend that Greece abstain from acts that would cause an escalation in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.

A Greek defence source denied there was an incident but said the Greeks were monitoring the activity of the Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa. The vessel appeared to be in an area claimed by the South for future hydrocarbons exploration, west of the island.

Turkey had issued a Navtex, an advisory to ships including coordinates, that it would be conducting seismic surveys in the Mediterranean Sea from Thursday to February 1 next year.

Responding, the South issued a counter-Navtex stating that the Turkish advisory was null and void.

Turkey came back with a new statement, saying its Navtex was “in accordance with international law”.

But South Nicosia’s position is that any economic activity within its maritime zone requires permission from South Cyprus. Since Turkey did not request permission, according to the Greek Cypriot authorities, the activities of the Barbaros are illegal. Turkey, Greece and South Cyprus have long disputed their overlapping claims of jurisdiction for offshore oil and gas research in the Mediterranean.

The area reserved by the Navtex is located at the notional boundaries of the respective exclusive zones (EEZs) of the South, Greece and Egypt.

Due to political reasons, the three countries have officially not delineated their EEZs with respect to one another.

The reserved area also borders the South’s offshore blocks 4 and 5, parts of which Turkey claims fall within its “continental shelf”.

According to Greek Cypriot daily Phileleftheros, the south-easternmost tip of the area is approximately 100 kilometres from the two sites in block 10 which ExxonMobil has earmarked for drilling this autumn.

The easternmost tip of the reserved area is approximately 150 kilometres off the coast of Paphos. The Turkish seismic vessel is being shadowed by two support ships, the Tanux-1 and the Apollo Moon.

Local Greek Cypriot media speculated that Turkey’s intent in deploying the Barbaros now is to convey a political message, namely making its presence felt in the area during the same time that ExxonMobil will be drilling exploratory wells for gas in block 10.

In February this year, Turkish warships prevented a drilling rig from approaching an exploratory well in the block 3.

In a report that came out days ago, the UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres urged the sides to avoid escalating tensions over upcoming drilling.