Ankara issues new Navtex for sea area south of Crete
Turkish authorities on Monday issued a navigational telex reserving an area of the sea south of the Greek island of Crete for a few hours on Tuesday.
Navtex number 1069/20 will be in force from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m. on August 25, reserving the area for “Turkish Navy and allied units maritime exercise,” according to Turkey’s Office of Navigation, Hydrography and Oceanography.
The new Navtex comes shortly after Athens issued an advisory to ships that its air and naval forces would conduct joint exercises in an area that overlaps with the one reserved by Ankara in a similar Navtex issued on Sunday for its Oruc Reis seismic survey vessel.
The area in the new advisory includes a section of the sea area outlined in the illegal Turkish-Libyan maritime borders accord.
