Cyprus: Turks Harass Ships Exploring For Oil

Last year Cypriot moves to tap potential deepwater reserves in the Mediterranean angered Turkey.

Cyprus has complained to the United Nations over what it said was harassment by a Turkish warship of two oil and gas exploration vessels, the government said on Monday.

The move is likely to cast a shadow over talks aimed at reunifying the island, divided along ethnic lines after Turkey invaded in 1974 and occupied the north. The incident occurred 27 miles off Cyprus in disputed international waters.

"The two ships were forced, by the Turkish warship, to cease their operations and withdraw within the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus, under fear for the lives of their crews and the integrity of the ships," Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon released on Monday.

The foreign-flagged exploration ships were carrying out surveys on Nov. 13 on behalf of the Greek Cypriot government, Cyprus said in its formal protest.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said the exploration on what it called Turkey's continental shelf could upset negotiating effforts.

"We find it an adventurous approach to carry out activities on Turkey's continental shelf at a time negotiations continue for a comprehensive solution in Cyprus," Burak Ozugergin told state Anatolian news agency.

Last year Cypriot moves to tap potential deepwater reserves in the Mediterranean also angered Turkey.

The reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots started in September and are expected to continue into 2009.

"The gravity of the incident cannot be overstated, taking into account the crucial time in relation to the efforts for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem," Christofias said in the Nov. 14 letter.

"I can only convey the dismay of my government over what transpired," he said.

Cypriot authorities had not disclosed the incident before.

Greek Cypriots have defined 11 offshore blocks south and southeast of the island for hydrocarbon exploration, with large areas still uncharted.

A Cypriot energy official told Reuters on Friday that authorities were close to awarding an exploration contract to a U.S. based firm for one of the blocks, and that negotiations were going on with two more companies for two more blocks.

The island planned to hold a second licensing round, a process where companies express an interest in exploration, in June next year, he said.

Christofias said the vessels were 27 miles off the island's south coast when the incident occurred. He said they were within Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Turkish warship said they were in the Turkish zone.

Such a zone defines a maritime boundary, normally 200 nautical miles from the shore, within which a country maintains exploitation rights.