Athens keeps a wary eye on activity in the Aegean
Athens has had its attention focused on a sea area stretching from the Evros land border to the island of Kastellorizo in the last few days.
On the one hand it is monitoring the moves of Turkish hydrographic vessel Cesme, which is active in the Aegean, albeit in international waters, on dates similar to those of the Piri Reis vessel in 1987, which led to a serious Greek-Turkish crisis.
It was also alerted after a Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship ran aground off Pserimos on Thursday, in an area not considered dangerous for navigation.
Concerns that a situation similar to the one that led to the Imia incident in 1996 would develop were heightened by the captain’s initial refusal to seek help from the Greek authorities. The ship, loaded with cement, was eventually transported by two Greek tugs.
Athens is also wary about the Blue Homeland exercise set to end on March 7.
