Greece monitoring movement of Turkish research vessel
Greece is closely monitoring the movement of Turkey’s seismic research vessel Oruc Reis as international pressure is mounting on Ankara to halt its activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Kathimerini reports that the Greek armed forces have been put on standby mode.
An international maritime safety advisory, or Navtex, issued late Sunday said the vessel was planning to operate in a region reaching up to 6.5 nautical miles from the Greek island of Kastellorizo, which is an area where Greece reserves the right to extend its sovereignty from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
Analysts say a lot will depend on whether the Oruc Reis will actually enter that area.
The Oruc Reis has since Tuesday morning switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) in an apparent bid to sever vessel tracking and monitoring.
The Turkish ship was last detected 35 nautical miles south of Kastellorizo. Reports say it was sailing at a slow speed, a possible indication it had started to lay cables for seismic research. It could not be confirmed if the vessel was conducting actual research.
