German research vessel Meteor was harassed by the Turkish Coast Guard while she was sailing North off the island of Limnos in the Aegean Sea. The Meteor has been conducting research on behalf of the German University of Heidelberg in the sea area between the islands of Limnos and Samothraki in the North-East Aegean Sea and has obtained all relevant permissions by the Greek Foreign Ministry.
Turkish Coast Guard officers reportedly asked the Meteor Captain to leave the area claiming the vessel was sailing in Turkish territorial waters.
The Captain set to change route westwards in order to leave the area, however, a call by the Greek authorities told him to remain in the area as it was Greek territorial waters.
Frigate ELLI from the Greek Navy was deployed in the area.
It is not the first and it will certainly be not the last time Ankara is challenging Greece’s sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea.
RV Meteor is a multidisciplinary research vessel operating mainly in high seas. She is owned by the German state represented by its Federal Ministry of Education and Research and registered in Hamburg.
What research is the Meteor doing? Or is this info not available?
it isn’t