A new incident of harassment of a vessel carrying out cable-laying work in the area between Astypalaia and Kos by a Turkish warship occurred a short while ago.

According to information, the vessel Ocean Link, which had departed from Astypalaia and was carrying out work in an area of international waters between Astypalaia and Kos, was harassed via radio by a Turkish vessel, which claimed that the area falls under Turkish jurisdiction and demanded that it leave.

However, this time the Greek frigate HS Adrias was sailing in the area and intervened. By transmitting a signal to the Turkish vessel that it is outside Turkish jurisdiction and that the area falls under Greek jurisdiction, it prevented further harassment of the vessel, which is continuing its work normally.

It is noted that Ocean Link had begun underwater surveys based on NAVTEX 471/26 issued by the Heraklion station and had obtained permits from the Greek authorities for fiber-optic cable-laying operations on behalf of OTE, as part of the “SEA-SPINE: High Speed Submarine Backbone for islands in the Aegean Sea” project.

This is the third time in the area that there has been an attempt to harass vessels conducting surveys and cable-laying work for telecommunications and interconnection. The incident naturally falls within the broader context of Turkey’s efforts to challenge Greek sovereign rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.