According to the web-page “Armynow.net”, in a rather hostile and unexpected move, Spain through its Hydrographic Service, announced that the Turkish oceanographic vessel “Cesme” will conduct research on the Aegean Sea.

The story is as follows: The country that has control on the Aegean Sea and the legal authority to issue any NAVTEX, is Greece. However, Turkey, is claiming islands from Greece as well as the control of the Aegean Sea. So in order to underscore these claims, Turkey issues many illegal NAVTEX which immediately are declared “VOID” by the Greek authorities as a standard procedure. This is exactly what happened in this case too.

Spain on the other hand, is the coordinating authority for the Mediterranean Sea area. So by adopting the Turkish NAVTEX is indirectly questioning the Greek sovereign rights in the Aegean Sea.

It is still not known if Greece has officially protested to Spain and how.