Turkey appears to have escalated its provocations regarding continental shelf issues over the past 24 hours. After issuing a Navtex claiming a “Turkish continental shelf” area south of Karpathos, Turkey sent warships to monitor the Italian research vessel “Ievoli Relume,” which is conducting surveys for the future installation of underwater cables for the Crete-Cyprus electrical interconnection project.

According to Kathimerini, the presence of the Italian vessel initially prompted the deployment of two frigates and a corvette from the Turkish Navy (Gokova, Gokcu, and Beykoz) to an area just outside the territorial waters between Kasos and Karpathos.

Greece’s response, according to the same report, initially involved the gunboat HS Aititos and subsequently the frigate HS Nikiforos Fokas. The two Greek warships were positioned in the straits between Kasos and Karpathos, at a sufficient distance from the Italian vessel’s survey operations.

However, Turkey continued to reinforce its forces in the area, as by Monday evening, two more missile boats arrived in the region. Athens chose not to escalate further, sending a Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel instead.

It is noted that the “Ievoli Relume” is operating based on a Navtex issued by the Heraklion station of the Hydrographic Service (693/24), with the objective of “conducting a survey for the installation of an underwater cable.”