Cyprus, Greece, France Plan Cable Project With Naval Survey Ships
Cyprus, Greece, and France agreed to accelerate the Great Sea Interconnector project by issuing maritime warnings and deploying French survey vessels to complete seabed mapping between Crete and Cyprus.
According to in-cyprus (Philenews), President Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and French President Emmanuel Macron held phone discussions in the days following an August 5 signing ceremony at the Maximos Mansion in Athens. The trilateral talks focused on accelerating the next phase of the ambitious interconnector project, which aims to link Cyprus’s electricity grid to the broader European network.
The August 5 ceremony saw the signing of two agreements between ADMIE, GSI (Great Sea Interconnector), Meridiam, and Nexans. Rather than losing momentum after the formal signing, political discussions among the three leaders intensified in subsequent days, sources told in-cyprus (Philenews).
Survey Work Emerges as Critical Priority
All three leaders reportedly agree that the project cannot genuinely restart until maritime surveys resume to complete bathymetric mapping and finalize the cable route connecting Kofinou to Korakia. The surveys are essential for determining the exact path the electricity cable will take across the Mediterranean seabed.
The leaders view it as urgent for Meridiam, now the majority shareholder in GSI, and Nexans, which holds the €1.4 billion contract for cable construction and installation, to complete all technical preparations. This would enable Greek authorities to issue a navtex—a navigational warning—as soon as possible to reserve the sea area between Crete and Cyprus for survey work.
According to in-cyprus (Philenews), the navtex and resumption of bathymetric surveys will proceed once Meridiam and Nexans make key operational decisions about which companies or consortium will complete the surveys and according to what timeline.
Turkey’s Claims Complicate Remaining Survey Work
ADMIE, which was the sole shareholder in GSI until August 5, reports that 60% of the bathymetric surveys have been completed to date. The remaining portion represents the most difficult and politically sensitive segment, as in-cyprus (Philenews) reports, because Turkey claims the sea area south of Kasos falls within its continental shelf based on its memorandum with the Libyan regime.
The companies involved have not yet announced when new surveys will begin, which firms will conduct them, or which vessels will be deployed for the work.
French Consortium May Dominate Project
Sources suggest it is fairly likely that Nexans will discontinue its cooperation with Italian firm NextGeo, which primarily used the vessel IEVOLI Relume, and that a French company or consortium will replace it for survey work.
Meridiam, now holding 66% of GSI, is also constructing the United Kingdom-Germany interconnector NeuConnect using other partners for maritime surveys and bathymetric work.
If current assessments prove accurate, in-cyprus (Philenews) reports that a fully French consortium could emerge across all segments of the project: ownership of the interconnector through Meridiam, cable construction and laying through Nexans, and a French company or consortium handling the final bathymetric surveys that will determine the cable’s route and the project’s final cost.
ADMIE retains technical leadership of the project and responsibility for its operation after electrification, though its role in the remainder of construction has not been clearly defined.
Geopolitical Dimensions of French Involvement
Some sources identify a clear geopolitical dimension in the prospect that all key aspects of the project could be advanced by French companies with apparent political backing from the French government, according to in-cyprus (Philenews).
This arrangement would mean that when Greek authorities issue the navtex in the coming period to reserve the sea area for surveys, it would be evident that the navigation warning serves French economic and geopolitical interests in accordance with international maritime law, and not solely the interests of the Greek state company.
At the August 5 signing ceremony at the Maximos Mansion, Meridiam president and CEO Thierry Déau emphasized the significance of the electricity interconnector project, underscoring the high-level French political interest in seeing it move forward.
With information from in-cyprus (Philenews)
