Turkey continued its belligerent stance off the coast of Cyprus on Friday, as it openly threatened violence against the Italian drill ship Saipem 1200, which was approaching the “Soupia” source in plot 3 of the Cypriot EEZ.
According to sources, a Turkish warship threated force and blocked the course of ENI-owned drill ship Saipem 1200, which, in a last ditch effort tried to approach the “Soupia” target.
If the Saipem 12000 is prevented by the Turkish navy from drilling in the Cypriot waters, it will set sail for Morocco, where it will drill in the RD target.
It should be noted that the Turkish Navtex, which had confined any movements by the Italian drilling platform for two weeks, expired, only for a new one to be issued in the same region immediately after.
The new Navtex has the exact same coordinates and advises caution to passing ships, which means that the “Soupia” target will remain inaccessible for drilling purposes until March 10th.
In an incident on February 9, the Turkish navy nearly rammed the same Italian drillship on its way to target “Soupia”. The radio communication between the captains of the two vessels was released by Turkish news agency Dogan.
