Diplomatic thriller after the sinking of the Turkish ship in Mykonos
In backstage diplomatic thriller evolved the case of the Turkish cargo ship «Yusuf Cepnioglu», which last Saturday, under bad weather conditions, aground on rocky area north of Mykonos.
The ship, with 14 Turkish nationals as crew, had departed from Smyrna heading to Tunisia loaded with 204 containers.
The thriller started in the first few minutes when the ship sent distress signal, according to the newspaper "Proto Thema".
The Greek Coast Guard, which watched the route of the ship, had contacted with the ship's bridge immediately, while was giving instructions to the lifeguards in order them to reach the exact spot and rescue the occupants.
In the life-raft however, boarded only 12 of the 14 people, since the captain and the chief officer refused to be rescued by the Greek Coast Guard, questioning Greece's right for search and rescue in the Aegean.
However, few moments later, a helicopter took off from a warship of the U.S. Navy which sailed to the area and collected the two officers. In this way the Turks had achieved their goal: they had been rescued, but not by the Greeks.
In support of the dark purposes of the Turks, an article in the newspaper "Vatan" under the title " The ship sank , the interrogation is over, it is Greece's decision" , includes the nondescript statements from the responsible of the Company Shipping Industry and Trade Furkan, Mr. Tountzai Tsepnioglou , who characterizes the sea area of Mykonos as 'international waters' .
"The health of our crew is in a good state. All were rescued. The issue investigated by the Greek authorities. Because the incident took place in international waters, completed the questioning of our crew and transferred them into a hotel", reportedly said Tsepnioglou.
So far, there have been recorded several incidents, which are aimed at creating artificial tension. According to Professor of International Law of the Sea, Mr. Andreas Constantinou " Turks due to their fixed political position, namely that the Aegean belongs equally to them, are questioning us at every opportunity that is given to them during search and rescue incidents."
"Now, in the case of Mykonos, the refusal of the captain and chief mate seems to be another deliberate action to strengthen these Turkish deliberations," he says.
