On Friday morning a Turkish research vessel, “Oruc Reis”, entered within the Greek continental shelf.

According to reports, the vessel entered at 06:40 in the Greek continental shelf, south of Megisti, east of Crete and west of Cyprus.

The same information indicates that it is not accompanied by another research or navy ship. The nearest Turkish navy ship is 100 km east. With it, however, are two Turkish merchant vessels.

The research vessel is monitored by the Greek frigate HN Nikiforos Fokas which sailed from Karpathos to the Turkish ship’s area.

Turkey has issued NAVTEX, which bound the region south of Crete.

According to government sources, by monitoring the ship’s course, it appears to have been moved away from the area. The same sources estimate the vessel may have entered the Greek continental shelf due to the adverse weather conditions it faced.

It should be noted that 24 years to the day, on January 31st, 1996, Turkey took advantage of a difficult political conjuncture in Greece and landed Special Forces troops on one of the two Imia islands in the Aegean Sea.