November 2 (SeeNews) - Turkey has extended by 10 days the hydrocarbons exploration operations of its Oruc Reis vessel in the eastern Mediterranean, the country's office of navigation, hydrography and oceanography said.
The seismic survey activities of the ship, as well as the accompanying vessels Ataman and Cengiz Han, will continue until November 14, the office of navigation said on Sunday in a navigational warning (Navtex) to vessels in an area in the eastern Mediterranean disputed by Turkey and Greece.
Greece's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Sunday that the Navtex confirms that "Turkey is continuing to ignore the fundamental rules of international law" and asked Ankara to retract the issued warning.
Tensions between Ankara and Athens heightened after Turkey sent the Oruc Reis to conduct a seismic survey in search for natural gas close to the Greek island of Kastellorizo. Turkey argues that Kastellorizo and several other Greek islands are located on the Turkish continental shelf, implying that distances of a country's continental shelf should be measured from the continental mainland. Greece claims that all islands must be taken into account on an equal basis in the calculation of maritime boundaries.
Oruc Reis in September sailed back home, temporarily easing tensions between the two countries. Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said soon afterwards that Greece would shortly restart talks on maritime zones with Turkey. However, Turkey again deployed the Oruc Reis in the disputed area to continue the seismic survey in October.