Greece readies Navtex to restart Great Sea Interconnector cable surveys off Kasos

Navtex expected within days

Athens is preparing a Navtex, the navigation notice that would reopen seabed surveys for the Great Sea Interconnector, the electricity link between Greece and Cyprus. Skai and NewsIT, citing ERT, say the notice is planned for the weekend of 7 and 8 November, after an inter-ministerial committee on sea research permits gives a positive recommendation by Friday, 6 November. To Vima reports the notice could come as early as Friday, while Kathimerini says the committee will not finish before Friday but expects no further delay. A separate Skai report, citing well-informed sources, puts the timing at 5 to 15 days.

Permits, vessel and survey area

Once the committee approves the request, the foreign and defence ministries must endorse the permit before it passes to the Navy's hydrographic service, according to Kathimerini. The French-flagged VB Abeille Marengo is anchored in the port of Heraklion with its AIS transponder switched on. Sources say it would need seven to ten hours after receiving instructions to reach the survey area, and it could head out before the Navtex is issued if it is not conducting research. The surveys would restart where they stopped in July 2024, outside Greek territorial waters off Kasos, within the potential Greek continental shelf. Licences issued last February cover work until the end of 2026, and the French subcontractor has asked for an extension beyond 31 December because surveys are expected to run into the new year.

Ankara's expected response

Speaking to ANT1, Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said Greece is prepared for every eventuality. In a later intervention he said Athens would examine all scenarios if the surveys are obstructed, including militarisation of the area, which he does not consider likely because the project is of European interest and the majority presence of France's Meridiam involves Paris.

“We have all the scenarios ready. If Turkey attempts to obstruct, it will find Greece opposing it.”

Kathimerini considers a Turkish counter-Navtex, issued soon after the Greek notice, quite likely, describing it as a long-standing tactic meant to challenge Athens' authority in the area. Sources cited by the paper expect such moves to be small-scale and without lasting effect, and they do not expect a disproportionate reaction from Ankara. On Thursday, 5 November, New Democracy MP Angelos Syrigos, a professor of international law, told Parapolitika 90.1 that Athens had weighed every scenario.

“We have taken into account all the possible scenarios that may cause a problem from Turkey, and for every scenario there is an answer.”

Europe, Paris and the wider picture

A recent European Commission report on Turkey refers to Ankara obstructing surveys for the link, a point Athens sees as strengthening its position. Gerapetritis told the Foreign Affairs and Defence committee on Tuesday, 3 November, that the project is co-financed by the European Union, and he argued that obstruction would put Turkey at odds with the bloc. To Vima reports that intensive work over recent weeks between Paris, Ankara and Athens, with France trying to bridge the differing positions, has borne some fruit. Athens may pass navigation-safety information through the French side rather than contacting Ankara directly, a way to limit the risk of tension. Reports also describe heightened readiness in the navy and possible recalls of officers' leave from Thursday, 5 November.