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Greece and France are considering rerouting the Great Sea Interconnector<\/strong>, the planned electricity cable linking Crete with Cyprus, to avoid T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s newly declared Fethiye-Ka\u015f marine park near Kastellorizo (Meis), according to Kathimerini<\/em>.<\/p>\n Greece does not recognise the Turkish marine park<\/strong>, which was declared in August 2026, and disputes any implications it may have for Greek sovereign rights or activities in the area.<\/p>\n The development comes as France takes greater control of the \u20ac2 billion-plus project.<\/p>\n French infrastructure investment firm Meridiam<\/strong> acquired a 66% stake in the project in August, while French cable manufacturer Nexans<\/strong> has been selected to carry out the cable installation. A French-flagged survey vessel is also expected to be used for the remaining seabed surveys.<\/p>\n Athens and Paris have agreed that Greece will notify T\u00fcrkiye<\/strong> about the planned survey operations rather than seek Ankara\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n The position is based on Greece\u2019s interpretation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/strong>, under which submarine cables can be laid and surveyed in relevant international waters without requiring the consent of a coastal state.<\/p>\n However, a significant portion of the preparatory work remains unfinished.<\/p>\n Around 40% of the seabed surveys<\/strong> have yet to be completed, including work in sensitive waters east of Kasos where Turkish warships disrupted Greek survey operations in 2024.<\/p>\n Greece is also examining whether to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles south and west of Crete<\/strong> before the survey programme resumes.<\/p>\n The possible rerouting would seek to avoid the Turkish-declared marine park while allowing the strategically important electricity link to move forward, without implying Greek recognition of the park.<\/p>\n No new date has yet been fixed for the resumption of the surveys.<\/p>\n The Great Sea Interconnector is designed to connect the electricity grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel<\/strong>, with the Cyprus section representing a major strategic and energy link for the island.<\/p>\n Source: Kathimerini<\/strong><\/p>\n