A new flashpoint has emerged in the Aegean after Turkey dispatched the research vessel Piri Reis for a ten-day mission, provoking a swift Greek countermeasure and reigniting disputes over sovereignty.
The Turkish announcement, issued through a NAVTEX from Izmir, declared that the vessel would operate from 15 to 25 September in a broad zone west of Lesvos, south of Chios and in waters near Kalogeros, the small island between Chios and Andros.
Greece immediately replied with its own NAVTEX via the Lemnos station, stressing that several of the coordinates “fall within Greek jurisdiction.” Officials in Athens confirmed they are monitoring the vessel’s activity closely.
The choice of Kalogeros as part of the survey area is considered especially sensitive. The islet forms part of a designated live-fire exercise zone for the Greek Armed Forces, a practice that Ankara has repeatedly criticised.
Diplomatic sources in Athens highlighted that while the Piri Reis has the technical capacity to carry out oceanographic studies, the operation itself raises “serious questions of jurisdiction and sovereignty,” as much of the mission overlaps Greece’s continental shelf and runs close to its territorial waters.
Doubts have also been cast over the validity of Turkey’s NAVTEX, since the authority to issue navigational warnings in the area lies with Greece’s Lemnos station, not Izmir.
The deployment comes at a politically charged moment: it follows a proposal submitted by U.S. energy giant Chevron for exploration south of Crete – an initiative Turkey opposes under its contested maritime accord with Libya – and coincides with renewed debate over a planned electricity link between Greece and Cyprus.
Source: tovima
