FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – Turkish naval forces intervened to stop a Cyprus-backed research vessel from conducting scientific surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, claiming the ship was operating within Turkey’s continental shelf without permission.
According to a report in Milliyet, cited by Antenna TV in Nicosia, the Republic of Cyprus issued a NAVTEX—a maritime advisory—authorizing the Gibraltar-flagged vessel Fugro Gauss to carry out underwater fiber-optic cable surveys as part of the EMC project.
Turkish authorities alleged the advisory included areas within Turkey’s continental shelf and declared it invalid.
The Turkish Navy dispatched ships and an aircraft to the area, warning the vessel that it could not proceed without Ankara’s consent.
The report said the move was part of Turkey’s broader effort to prevent what it described as unilateral actions by the Greek Cypriot side aimed at creating “fait accompli” in contested waters.
Diplomatic sources cited by the newspaper reportedly emphasized that the EMC cable project and the Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnection initiative (Great Sea Interconnector) are separate undertakings but subject to the same legal framework.
They insisted that any infrastructure crossing Turkey’s continental shelf—registered with the United Nations in March 2018—requires Turkish approval.