Work on the Italian vessel Levoli Relume in international waters between Kasos and Karpathos has been completed.
The ship, which is carrying out seabed surveys for the electricity interconnection between Crete and Cyprus, has been at the centre of new tension in Greek-Turkish relations, with Ankara sending warships to the area.
The ADMIE announcement
With today’s announcement, ADMIE informs that the works have been completed.
“ADMIE, the implementing entity of the European Union Project of Common Interest 3.10.2, announces that the vessel “Ievoli Relume” of the Italian company NextGeo, which carries out seabed surveys for the Crete-Cyprus electrical interconnection on behalf of the French company Nexans, has completed the works in international waters between Kasos and Karpathos, in accordance with the plan” says the announcement.
The government representative’s statement
In turn, Pavlos Marinakis, speaking to the Open television station, confirmed that “the Italian investigation vessel has completed the investigation procedures. They began shortly before 12:00, at 11:00 last night. The investigations were concluded at 4:00 in the morning.
As he explained, “it traveled the entire distance within the Greek EEZ, from 6 nautical miles at the borders of Kasos, to 6 nautical miles off Karpathos. Procedures completed and return to Heraklion for refueling and crew change, for refueling and crew change. The Turkish ship had retreated one and a half nautical miles and, correspondingly, there was the presence of the Greek ship called Aittitos. And it seems that the channels of communication worked at the diplomatic level.”
According to government sources, the research vessel has completed its work in international waters and is sailing to Heraklion for crew change and refueling. The work began at 10:55 p.m. and was completed around 3:40 a.m. The same sources emphasize that “the ship completed its survey based on the original planning and that the communication channels that were established within the framework of the Greek-Turkish dialogue worked, without straying from national lines.”