Turkish notice and Greek response

Turkey issued a NAVTEX on 20 October 2026 for geophysical surveys by the vessel KOBI RUEGG for the East to Med Data Corridor (EMC), a data cable linking Saudi Arabia with Europe through Greece and Cyprus. Turkish authorities said the work had been coordinated and authorised by the competent Turkish bodies, and the survey was scheduled to begin on 21 October 2026 and continue until further notice. The notice used lanes 10 nautical miles wide, 5 nautical miles on each side of the line, and asked passing ships to keep a 5 nautical mile distance from the survey vessel.

On 21 October, the Hellenic NAVTEX station on Heraklion issued a counter-notice, numbered HA-61 and dated 202105 UTC OCT 26. It said an unauthorised station had broadcast the Turkish message FA41-1032/26 and that the vast majority of the coordinates, specifically those detailed in the notice, fall within the Greek continental shelf under international law and Law No. 4001/2011. The Greek message declared the Turkish notice void and inactive and instructed that it be cancelled immediately.

Greek legal position

The Greek notice stated that the surveys in the Greek continental shelf area must be carried out under the terms of Greek licence AP. 2461/2.10.2026. It also said the lines extend within the area of the Greek NAVTEX service, where the Heraklion station has exclusive responsibility for transmitting such messages. The Greek warning remains in force until further notice, according to Naftemporiki's report of the Athens reply.

Ankara's further notice

A second Turkish NAVTEX followed on 20 October, numbered TURNHOS N/W 1032/26 in its English text, which referred to a related navigational warning MA37-302/26. That text cited Turkey's claims lodged with the United Nations in a letter dated 18 March 2020 (reference A/74/757). Two lines of coordinates were published, running from the sea south of Rhodes and east of Crete to a point west of Cyprus. Greek reports noted that the notice itself does not constitute international recognition of the limits Ankara claims.

Disputed waters

The dispute centres on whether the survey zones fall under Greek or Turkish jurisdiction. Greek coverage stressed that the work is covered by a Greek licence and that the coordinates lie within the responsibility area of the Heraklion station. Turkish notices present the survey as approved by its authorities while asserting jurisdictional claims over the continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean. Reports in Greek and Cypriot media also described the Turkish move as challenging the Cypriot exclusive economic zone.