Retired Admiral Cem Gürdeniz addressed the Maritime Jurisdiction Areas Law Draft, publicly known as the "Blue Homeland Law", in a comprehensive assessment on his YouTube channel "Mavi Vatan ve Ötesi". Gürdeniz described the draft as a historic success while emphasizing the delay in Türkiye's maritime development journey. Stating that the Turkish Naval Forces have always assumed the locomotive role in the institutionalization of Turkish maritime law, Gürdeniz expressed his satisfaction with the law coming to the agenda.
The retired Admiral recalled that Turkish public opinion's first serious encounter with maritime law was the 1975-1976 Aegean continental shelf crises, noting that until that date, the Turkish public only knew about Cyprus regarding maritime issues. Gürdeniz issued a striking warning about the fate of the MTA Sismik-1 (formerly Hora) vessel, which conducted continental shelf research in the Aegean in July 1976 and became a symbol in Türkiye's maritime law history. He stated that the vessel is currently moored at Tuzla port as a training ship for ITU Maritime Faculty and that he received news it would be scrapped, calling "Do not harm this ship".
Gürdeniz made a direct appeal to MTA, proposing that Sismik-1 be moored at Kuruçeşme and converted into a museum ship narrating the history of seabed mining, energy research, and seismic exploration. Recalling that all jurists unanimously stated at the Maritime Law Symposium held on June 21-22, 2004 that Türkiye urgently needed a maritime jurisdiction areas law, Gürdeniz assessed: "Today we are in 2026; exactly 22 years have passed. No more striking example can be given of the state's inability to become maritime."
Summarizing the current legal framework, Gürdeniz recalled that territorial waters are designated as 6 nautical miles in the area from Çanakkale to Dalaman River and 12 nautical miles in other seas. Emphasizing that Türkiye has been a principal representative of the school that has argued since the 1958 Geneva Continental Shelf Convention that islands do not generate continental shelf, Gürdeniz stated that the concept of "persistent objector" in international law applies to Türkiye. He noted that Greece's claim to grant continental shelf to islands in the semi-enclosed Aegean containing thousands of islands has been rejected by Türkiye from the beginning.
Gürdeniz expressed his belief that the widespread public expectation that an Exclusive Economic Zone will be declared with the law is not realistic. The retired Admiral said he makes this assessment because he knows the conservatism of the Foreign Ministry and state machinery on these issues very well, adding "I hope I am wrong" to show his optimism. Gürdeniz's assessment once again revealed the long delay in Türkiye's process of regulating maritime jurisdiction areas and the difficulty of institutional transformation.
Key Takeaways:
1. Blue Homeland Law came to agenda 22 years after 2004 Maritime Law Symposium.
2. Turkish Naval Forces played locomotive role in institutionalization of Turkish maritime law.
3. MTA Sismik-1 vessel proposed to be converted into museum ship.
4. Türkiye's territorial waters are 6 miles between Çanakkale-Dalaman, 12 miles elsewhere.
5. Gürdeniz believes Exclusive Economic Zone declaration will not be included in law.
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