According to a NAVTEX issued by Turkey, Ankara has “given consent” for surveys by the “Abeille Marengo”.
The move comes just hours after the French vessel departed from the port of Heraklion.
In notice 1127/26, Ankara says the work is being carried out along routes that have been “co-ordinated with the competent Turkish authorities” and that “consent has been obtained from the Turkish authorities”, which it says are “competent”.
The notice describes the work as “marine scientific research” for the installation of an undersea cable. It says the work is taking place within the Turkish NAVTEX area of responsibility and “on the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean”. For the outer limits of this continental shelf, it refers to letter A/74/757, which Turkey submitted to the UN on 18 March 2020.
The work is scheduled to run from 10 November 2026 to 19 March 2027, along two almost parallel lines. The lines begin south-east of Karpathos and Kasos, at approximately 35°20' N – 27°15' E. They run south-east and end south-west of Cyprus, at approximately 34°11' N – 32°16' E. The notice asks passing vessels to keep a distance of 2 nautical miles and is cancelled at 00:01 UTC on 20 March 2027.
The wording differs from the counter-NAVTEX 1105/26 issued by Turkey on 6 November. In that notice, Ankara said it had not given consent for the surveys and described Greek NAVTEX 1411/26, issued by the Heraklion station, as “unauthorised”. The new notice does not explain how or by whom the “consent” it refers to was given.