Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry says French-flagged ship’s research unauthorized

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said a French-flagged ship intends to conduct unauthorized marine scientific research in the Eastern Mediterranean within Türkiye’s continental shelf to lay a cable. The ministry said Türkiye canceled unauthorized navigational warnings issued by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus for this purpose.

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry objected to a research activity that a French-flagged ship plans to conduct on Türkiye’s continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the ministry’s written statement No. 214, dated Nov. 6, 2026, it said the ship intended to conduct “an unlawful marine scientific research activity aimed at laying a cable without authorization” within the continental shelf whose outer limits were communicated to the United Nations on March 18, 2020. The full text of the statement is available here on the ministry’s website.

The ministry announced that Türkiye had canceled the unauthorized navigational warnings issued by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus for this purpose. The statement stressed that the process concerning the consent required from Türkiye under established provisions of international maritime law had not yet been completed for the part of the planned activity falling within Türkiye’s continental shelf.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s statement No. 214 on the French-flagged ship, dated Nov. 6, 2026

The final paragraph of the document published by the ministry expressed Türkiye’s determination in the following words: “Our determination to protect our sovereign rights arising from international law is complete, and we will continue to adopt an approach based on cooperation, dialogue and coordination in the region.” The English version of the statement was also shared on the ministry’s official X account.

Ship is in the area for the Crete-Cyprus cable

According to information in the Greek press, the ship at the center of the statement is the French-flagged Abeille Marengo, which will conduct seabed research for the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) project planned to connect Greece and Southern Cyprus with a submarine electricity cable. According to To Vima, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis authorized the research and cable-laying activities on Nov. 6 following an application by French cable manufacturer Nexans, the project’s contractor, after which a Greek NAVTEX was issued. The newspaper wrote that the authorization covered the period from Nov. 6, 2026, to March 6, 2027, and a route extending from southeast of Crete to east of Rhodes.

According to the Greek press, Türkiye soon issued counter-NAVTEX No. 1105/26 through the Antalya station. The notice said that part of the area announced by the Greek NAVTEX fell within Türkiye’s continental shelf communicated to the UN in document A/74/757 on March 18, 2020; that Turkish authorities had not granted consent for the research activity; and that all research activities in Turkish maritime jurisdiction areas must be coordinated with the relevant Turkish authorities.

Ankara’s position: Written notification and coordination

Türkiye had expressed its position on the project on various occasions in recent weeks. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in an interview with Greece’s Ta Nea newspaper in October that Ankara was not categorically opposed to the project. According to remarks reported in the Turkish press, Fidan said: “What we are asking is that when a ship conducts research at sea, it send us written notification—not merely verbal notice—containing the following: ‘We will carry out these specific activities in this area, and these are the coordinates.’ That is all we ask.”

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis in Ankara (Sept. 5, 2023, archive)

In the same interview, Fidan stressed that they did not want the status quo disrupted or faits accomplis created. He recalled that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had proposed an alternative form of cooperation based on supplying electricity, water and natural gas through Türkiye during his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in New York. The Turkish Defense Ministry also stressed in a statement on Sept. 24 that cable- and pipeline-laying activities in Türkiye’s continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean must be coordinated with Ankara.

The project covers a route of approximately 900 kilometers between Crete and Cyprus. In August, French infrastructure investor Meridiam purchased a 66% stake in the company carrying out the project. Polis Lemonaris, head of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority, also announced that the target completion date had been moved from January 2030 to January 2031.

Document: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photos: Wikimedia Commons (FactFindersEnigma; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece)

Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry says French-flagged ship’s research unauthorized