Greek and Turkish tempers flare over Turkish oil exploration in the Aegean Sea
27th November
A dispute over oil exploration in the Aegean Sea has threatened to flare up, following an incident, November 15, in which a Norwegian research vessel and its Turkish frigate escort, were asked to abandon their activities around Greece’s easternmost island, Kastelorizo.
Turkey and Greece nearly went to war in 1996 over a similar dispute. Earlier this year, an unnamed Greek foreign ministry official is reported to have commented that “exploration is taking place completely in Turkish waters. As such there is no need for Greece to comment on the situation.” However, the situation appears to have changed recently.
The Norwegian-flagged ship was sailing outside of Greece ’s territorial waters, but, according to Greek officials, within its continental shelf. Greece ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995 under which coastal nations have a 12-nautical-mile definition of territorial water.
In a statement the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that: “the zone where the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, contracted the Norwegian ship M/V Malene Ostervold [to carry out] geophysics research” was under Turkish sovereign maritime authority. TPAO’s general director, Mehmet Uysal, also said that the ship was operating within six miles of its coast, or, within Turkey ’s maritime territory.
Greece’s 2000 or so Aegean islands currently have a territorial limit of 6-nautical miles, but Greece claims that this limit can be extended to 12 miles under the UNCLOS. Turkey has stated that if Greece were to extend its territories, it would be a cause for war.
Both nations suffer from a deficit of energy resources and are involved in oil and gas exploration activities, and tensions occasionally run high. Turkey is currently contesting Cypriot exploration activities after it recently put 11 offshore blocks up for bid.
A dispute over oil exploration in the Aegean Sea has threatened to flare up, following an incident, November 15, in which a Norwegian research vessel and its Turkish frigate escort, were asked to abandon their activities around Greece’s easternmost island, Kastelorizo.
Turkey and Greece nearly went to war in 1996 over a similar dispute. Earlier this year, an unnamed Greek foreign ministry official is reported to have commented that “exploration is taking place completely in Turkish waters. As such there is no need for Greece to comment on the situation.” However, the situation appears to have changed recently.
The Norwegian-flagged ship was sailing outside of Greece ’s territorial waters, but, according to Greek officials, within its continental shelf. Greece ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1995 under which coastal nations have a 12-nautical-mile definition of territorial water.
In a statement the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that: “the zone where the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, contracted the Norwegian ship M/V Malene Ostervold [to carry out] geophysics research” was under Turkish sovereign maritime authority. TPAO’s general director, Mehmet Uysal, also said that the ship was operating within six miles of its coast, or, within Turkey ’s maritime territory.
Greece’s 2000 or so Aegean islands currently have a territorial limit of 6-nautical miles, but Greece claims that this limit can be extended to 12 miles under the UNCLOS. Turkey has stated that if Greece were to extend its territories, it would be a cause for war.
Both nations suffer from a deficit of energy resources and are involved in oil and gas exploration activities, and tensions occasionally run high. Turkey is currently contesting Cypriot exploration activities after it recently put 11 offshore blocks up for bid.