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Greece and Türkiye open the first direct ferry route

CCTV News Client News Greece and Türkiye officially opened the first "friendship route" ferry service on the 10th, between the northern port of Thessaloniki in Greece and the western port of Izmir in Türkiye, opening the first direct sea route between the two bitter neighbors.

According to Agence France Presse, the Levante Ferry Company, headquartered in Greece, announced that its "Levantesmena" ferry will start transporting passengers and goods between the two countries starting from the 10th. This ferry can carry up to 948 passengers and 300 vehicles, which will be beneficial for enhancing the commercial interests of the two countries and deepening mutual connections.

The ferry began its test voyage at 17:15 local time on the 10th (22:15 Beijing time), carrying 35 people, mainly employees of Levante Company, and will travel for approximately 14 hours to reach Izmir.

This shipping company has invested approximately 16 million euros in the past three years to build this route, and will operate three ferries per week in the future.

This is the first main sea route opened between the mainland of Greece and Turkey. In the past, only some eastern Greek islands provided the service of carrying people and goods in small boats to nearby Türkiye ports.

Greece and Türkiye have long had differences on the ownership of oil and gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, the division of territorial waters and airspace, immigration affairs, Cyprus and other issues. Although the two governments have carried out a series of consultations and dialogues to improve relations in recent years, they still have disagreements from time to time.

Turkey recently accused Greece of violating international agreements, maintaining a military presence on more than a dozen islands in the Aegean Sea near Türkiye's coast, and harassing Türkiye's fighter jets with air defense systems. Greece, for its part, said it needed to defend its eastern islands and asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union and the United Nations to condemn the increasingly provocative remarks made by Turkish officials against Türkiye in order to prevent tensions from escalating into conflict.

The latest case to confirm the tension between the two countries occurred during the informal meeting held by the heads of government of EU countries in Prague, the Czech capital last week. When the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who did not attend the meeting, gave a speech at a formal banquet, Greek Prime Minister Kyrgiakos Mizotakis stood up and left the table.