Once again, Turkey is exploiting even a tragedy such as the one that occurred off Chios in order to promote its well-known claims, going so far as to confuse the media and the authorities involved in the search and rescue of shipwrecked migrants.

As soon as the incident off Chios, involving the sinking of a smugglers’ boat, became known, the competent Greek authorities issued the necessary NAVTEX and NOTAM in order to initiate the Search and Rescue (SAR) operation.

Greek NOTAM A0266/26, issued at 19:44 on 3 February, defined the search area as “a radius of 0.05 NM, centered at 38°26.5′N 026°09.5′E, within the Athens FIR,” and called on “individual units to establish coordination with the Piraeus JRCC prior to entering the aforementioned area, which is within the Athens FIR and under its jurisdiction.”

Several hours later, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Turkey—following its usual practice—issued NOTAM A0422/26, claiming the following:

“Regarding the Greek NOTAM ‘A0266/26’ LGGG, Turkey does not accept the definition of the Search and Rescue (SAR) area with reference to the Athens FIR. The area referred to in this Greek NOTAM violates part of Turkish territorial waters and partly falls within the Turkish Maritime Search and Rescue Region (SRR) as declared to the IMO and included in the IMO Global SAR Plan. Therefore, all SAR efforts and activities within the Turkish SRR should be coordinated with the relevant Turkish authorities.”

This constitutes a familiar tactic by Turkey, which, in an effort to assert its claims and promote an alleged “extension” of its SAR responsibility up to the middle of the Aegean Sea—effectively placing Greek islands within a zone of Turkish responsibility—does not hesitate to create confusion among coast guard authorities as to who is responsible for coordinating SAR operations.

This illegal intervention by the Turkish side prompted an immediate response from the Greek Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which issued a new NOTAM rejecting the Turkish claims and declaring the Turkish announcement invalid.

Greek NOTAM A0267/26 states that “the Turkish NOTAM A0422/26 is invalid and unsubstantiated, as it refers to Search and Rescue activities within the Athens FIR, where the only competent authority for issuing NOTAMs, in accordance with ICAO provisions, is the Greek Civil Aviation Authority through the competent AIS unit.”

The Greek NOTAM further notes that the Search and Rescue Area under Greek responsibility coincides with the Athens FIR, as established at the Istanbul (1950), Paris (1952), and Geneva (1958) Regional Air Navigation Meetings. These decisions were accepted by the participating states, including Turkey, and were adopted unanimously by the ICAO Council. This arrangement has also been registered and circulated within the IMO (SAR.8/CIRC.1/CORR.3, Annex 2) and is fully consistent with IMO and ICAO recommendations linking SAR boundaries to the corresponding FIR. Moreover, the Piraeus JRCC remains the sole competent authority that effectively and efficiently coordinates all SAR operations throughout the Greek SAR Area.

At the same time, the Greek authorities addressed Turkey’s additional claim by emphasizing that “the area described in Greek NOTAM (A) A0266/26 lies within Greek territory, Greek territorial waters, and Greek national airspace, where Greece exercises sovereignty in accordance with international law.”

Finally, the Civil Aviation Authority, while informing all users of the international NOTAM system, warned that:

“As in the past, misinterpretations and distortions by the Turkish authorities of the letter and spirit of international texts concerning Search and Rescue responsibilities are rejected by Greece, as they may lead to serious institutional and practical complications in the conduct of Search and Rescue operations.”

Ultimately, the Search and Rescue operation was carried out by the Greek authorities, under the coordination of the Piraeus JRCC, with the large-scale deployment of both maritime and aerial assets.