Turkey is planning to search for oil in Kastelorizo

Πηγή: defencegreece
Sep. 16 2011



The Turkish government has chartered a Norwegian research vessel for carrying out marine research in a wide region that overlaps the Greek continental shelf south of Kastelorizo​​.

Issuing a Mariners notice (NAVTEX), the Turkish authorities announced that from September 15 to November 15, the Norwegian ship (BERGEN SURVEYOR) together with three accompanying ships and possibly by Turkish warships, will conduct research in a wide area which includes pieces of Turkish, Cypriot and a little bit of Greek continental shelf in Kastelorizo.

Until late at night the ships were in Antalya, while for the conduction of this research neither Ankara nor Norway have asked the permission of the Greek side.

The officials of the Greek Embassy in Ankara are expected to make an urgent demarche to the Turkish Foreign Ministry calling for withdrawal from any research activity that affects Greek governing rights in the region.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has instructed the Greek embassy in Oslo to contact the shipping company of the Norwegian research vessel, as well as the Foreign Office of Norway, in order to announce the Greek positions for launching research in Greek shelf.

It should be noted that the companies, which have expressed interest in the investigation of seismic data in areas of the Ionian Sea and south of Crete, are also Norwegian, in a process that Greece began only recently, with the publication of the relevant competition.