A new vessel traffic monitoring system to monitor traffic within Turkish Cyprus' maritime jurisdiction areas is slated to be commissioned soon, a top official announced on Thursday.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu noted that the system established in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as part of the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Project will be commissioned on July 20 and that vessel traffic will be effectively monitored within maritime jurisdiction areas.
"We have completed the construction works, equipment installations and software integration processes for the project. By commissioning the system on July 20, we will begin effectively monitoring vessel traffic in the TRNC's maritime jurisdiction areas," he said.
Emphasizing that Türkiye's effectiveness in the Eastern Mediterranean will be further strengthened with the Eastern Mediterranean VTS Project, Uraloğlu suggested that with the project, they would "protect our interests in our Blue Homeland, and we will be able to seamlessly monitor vessel traffic in the maritime area between the waters surrounding the TRNC and our country."
The "Blue Homeland" doctrine, which took shape over the 2010s, covers Türkiye's maritime zones – continental shelf, territorial waters and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) – across the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean.
