NEXANS request sets two-week wait for Cyprus cable surveys

NEXANS asked Greece’s Foreign Ministry to start the NAVTEX process for Crete-Cyprus cable surveys, beginning a permit sequence expected to take at least two weeks, Protothema said in an Oct. 15 news report.

For NEXANS and the Great Sea Interconnector, the wait is short against an authorised survey period ending Dec. 31, 2026, but it pushes any restart beyond end-October, the report said.

The application went to the ministry’s D1 Directorate and is due to be reviewed by the Interministerial Committee for the Granting of Marine Research Permits, known as EXAETH, Protothema said. Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis would then make the final decision before the Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service issues the NAVTEX, a maritime notice to ships.

A separate request was filed with the Hellenic Coast Guard for an exemption allowing the French-flagged ABEILLE MARENGO to carry out the work because no equivalent Greek-flagged vessel is available, according to the report. Protothema said Next Geosolution Europe SA submitted that request after taking over the work from NEXANS SA.

The Coast Guard filing covers preliminary underwater surveys, including oceanographic and bathymetric work, from Korakia in Crete’s Heraklion regional unit to the maritime area of Cyprus, the report said. That places the work on a cross-Mediterranean corridor between Greece and Cyprus, rather than only a local coastal survey.

The exemption application said “there is no other change to the overall procedure concerning the survey route for the proposed laying and alignment of the cable.” It also said the work would be carried out within the authorised period, which runs until Dec. 31, 2026, with a possible extension, according to Protothema.

Protothema said the operational team behind the Great Sea Interconnector had been ready to file and was waiting for political clearance while France pursued diplomatic contacts with Turkey. The report said Athens does not officially know what France discussed with Turkish counterparts, or whether any formula was reached that would allow work to proceed without incident.

The legal and diplomatic issue is who must be notified, and who has authority to issue maritime notices. Athens’ position, according to the report, is that survey requests must be submitted to Greece and that Greece is responsible for the NAVTEX.

Turkey’s position was reflected in comments cited by Protothema from Mustafa Başkara, director of the University of Ankara’s National Research Centre for the Law of the Sea. Başkara said “decisions regarding the location and the manner in which work will be carried out in these areas must be taken jointly with Turkey, and permission must be obtained from Turkey by submitting a notification.”

Başkara also said “anyone intending to carry out work on Turkey’s continental shelf must obtain permission for that work.” Protothema reported that Athens would not accept a request also submitted to a third party.

The report said one possible complication would be Turkey issuing its own NAVTEX and treating notification as a request to Turkish authorities. In that case, Athens could issue a cancelling NAVTEX saying the work falls under the notice from the authorised station in Heraklion, according to Protothema.

The next formal steps are the Greek committee review, the foreign minister’s decision and any NAVTEX issued by the Hellenic Navy Hydrographic Service. The dispute leaves the survey restart dependent on both the Greek permit chain and the handling of any Turkish response.

Next milestones

• After end-October: check whether survey work begins once the Greek review and NAVTEX process have run for at least two weeks, as Protothema reported.

• Dec. 31, 2026: the current authorised period for the underwater survey work expires, unless an extension is granted, according to the report.

Source: news report, Protothema, Oct. 15, 2026