Turkey’s relevant transports and maritime minister arrived in Athens this week for talks with his Greek counterpart, with the issue of Turkish-flagged cruisers and tourist vessels connecting the Turkish coast with various Greek isles in the eastern Aegean topping the agenda.
Ankara issued a prohibition earlier this month on Turkish-flagged vessels plying the routes, an abrupt reaction to the administrative fines levied by the Greek coast guard on several Turkish operators for illegal transport services and alleged safety violations. The ban, however, was apparently a momentary reaction, as tourism professionals on both sides of the Aegean decried the possibility of an interruption in routes.
In talks at the ministry in Piraeus on Thursday with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Arslan,, Greek minister Panayiotis Kouroumblis proposed petitioning the EU to consider the small passenger cruisers as “traditional vessels”, under the condition that all safety and maritime regulations are met.
Both sides also agreed to clarify and list the safety regulations stipulated in Greek and Community law.
The mood and language used by both sides during the meeting points to a resolution of the matter, given that tourists and travelers going back-and-forth from the Turkish mainland and to the Greek isles is increasing exponentially, while making the tourism attraction higher for the areas involved.
