Turkey has rejected Greek and Cypriot permits for seabed surveys supporting an undersea electricity cable, asserting that the French research ship entered its continental shelf.
Ankara issued a counter-notice to mariners declaring the operations unauthorized and claimed that diplomatic consultations with France over Turkish consent remain pending.
Greek diplomatic officials dismissed the Turkish claims immediately, maintaining that the survey vessel VB Abeille Marengo will operate strictly according to schedule in Greek and Cypriot waters under international maritime law.
The clash involves the Great Sea Interconnector, a multi-billion euro strategic project designed to link the power grids of Greece and Cyprus through an undersea cable across the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish Objections and Maritime Claims
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a French-flagged vessel was attempting to conduct unauthorized marine scientific research to lay cables without required permission. The ministry asserted that part of the designated survey corridor lies within Turkey's continental shelf, citing maritime coordinates registered with the United Nations on March 18, 2020.
Ankara stated that navigational warnings issued for the mission by Greece and the Republic of Cyprus had been cancelled by Turkish authorities. Turkish officials added that the legal process of securing Turkey's consent under the international law of the sea has not yet concluded, while noting that Ankara remains committed to an approach of cooperation, dialogue, and coordination.
Shortly after Greece published its maritime coordinates, the Turkish navy navigational service released a counter-notice under reference TURNHOS N/W 1105/26 for the Mediterranean Sea. The bulletin warned mariners that sections of the route promulgated under Greek notice HA15-1411/26 fall inside the continental shelf limits Turkey reported to the UN under document A/74/757.
The Turkish directive stated that authorities in Ankara had not granted consent for the research and emphasized that all marine scientific activities within Turkish maritime jurisdiction must be coordinated with Turkish officials. Ankara added that its counter-notice will remain in force until March 6, 2027, at 22:00 UTC.
Licensing Approvals in Athens and Nicosia
The diplomatic friction erupted just as Greece completed formal licensing procedures to allow the French research vessel Abeille Marengo to begin underwater seabed mapping off the island of Kasos. The Greek Hydrographic Service published its navigational warning to give the vessel clearance to enter the survey zone.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that French cable manufacturing company NEXANS requested the permit on behalf of project developer Great Sea Interconnector. Greece's Interministerial Committee for the Granting of Marine Research Licenses, known as EXAETH, reviewed the application and issued a positive recommendation, prompting Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis to sign the licensing decision on November 6, 2026.
Authorities in Cyprus took identical steps, with the coastal radio station in Larnaca issuing a navigational warning to authorize survey work by the Abeille Marengo inside the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus. Greece's Independent Power Transmission Operator, known as IPTO or ADMIE, confirmed alongside Great Sea Interconnector that both national notices allow the ship to gather critical seabed data along the planned route between Crete and Cyprus.
Diplomatic communications accelerated across the region as Gerapetritis held a telephone conference with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos to coordinate their joint response. The Greek foreign ministry reported the discussion on social media platform X, underscoring full bilateral alignment between Athens and Nicosia.
Regional Tensions and Greek Resolve
The Abeille Marengo is currently docked at the port of Heraklion on the island of Crete, awaiting official signals outlining specific coordinates and operating schedules. The research ship is scheduled to concentrate its mapping work in the maritime area east of Crete and Kasos, where a standoff between Greek and Turkish naval vessels halted similar survey operations in the summer of 2024.
Officials in Athens stated that Greece has prepared responses for all potential scenarios if Turkey attempts to block the ship, but diplomats believe direct friction at sea remains improbable. Athens assesses that senior diplomatic contacts between Paris and Ankara, along with backing from the European Commission in Brussels, will discourage Turkey from staging another military confrontation.
The latest maritime controversy follows remarks delivered by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the United Nations Security Council, where he cautioned against unlawful maritime pacts such as the 2019 Turkey-Libya agreement. Mitsotakis said that cross-border energy links enhance regional security, provide cheaper electricity, and foster lasting peace, warning that arbitrary territorial claims must not be permitted to derail regional prosperity.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis stated on television channel Skai that Athens will not back down from its energy timetable. Marinakis said that licensing was conducted solely through Greek authorities, describing the interconnector as a European project backed by Greece, Cyprus, France, and the European Union that will proceed without delay.
Strategic Role of the Great Sea Interconnector
The Great Sea Interconnector project entails laying an undersea high-voltage direct current electricity cable measuring roughly 900 kilometers to connect Crete and Cyprus. The subsea power line will have an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatts, creating the first physical link between the Cypriot power network and the unified European energy grid.
Cyprus is the only European Union member state that remains completely isolated from the wider European electricity system. The cable will enable Nicosia to import power during domestic shortages at competitive rates and export surplus electricity generated by island solar photovoltaic installations and other renewable facilities.
For Greece, the interconnection supports long-term plans to position the country as a primary clean energy transmission hub in the Southeastern Mediterranean. Officials from both Athens and Nicosia affirmed that conducting thorough seabed surveys remains essential for the final engineering design and execution of the strategic European link.
