Meteor

A pre-Inspection of the 'Meteor' was to take place on Feb 11, 2026, in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space. The research vessel is offered for sale in July 2026. Link to exposé: https://www.vebeg.de/de/aktuelles/news.htm?item_showid=2069

The "Meteor", working on behalf of the University of Heidelberg in Germany in the sea between Samothrace and Limnos in the eastern Aegean, was harassed on Dec 29, 2017, by Turkish Coastguard officers who warned the captain to leave, saying the vessel was in Turkish waters. The "Meteor" had in fact been granted all the necessary permits from the Greek Foreign and Defense ministries, according to Greek military officials who referred to the standard Turkish tactics of questioning Greek sovereign rights in the Aegean. Further south, west of Lesvos, the "Deep Sea Metro 2" and the Turkish corvette "Bafra", escorting it, remained in international waters. Their passage through the Aegean on Dec 28 was seen as a message to Athens that Ankara planned to play a part in energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.