The Turkish press has revealed that Greek Cypriot ships not allowed to dock in Turkish ports have circumvented the ban by using other countries’ flags, according to officials. At least one of the ships involved travelled to Malta following its visit to a Turkish port

The Turkish press reported that three Greek Cypriot ships docked at and departed from Istanbul Ambarli, Mersin, Gebze, Gemlik, Eregli and Izmit Derince ports on various dates in 2006 and 2007.

Turkey refuses Greek Cypriot ships and planes access to its ports and airports despite pressure from the European Union, insisting the restrictions will be lifted if the 27-nation bloc reciprocates by allowing trade via Turkish Cypriot ports and airports. The EU suspended talks on eight of the 35 negotiating chapters with candidate Turkey in December due to Ankara’s refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from member Greek Cyprus.

“Thousands of ships enter Turkish ports every year and some of them may submit documents certified by another country if they apply to Turkish authorities via ship agencies, as they are registered in two countries in this case,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Bilman said on Thursday at a press conference. He added that relevant authorities have been asked to study the documents more carefully.

The three Greek Cypriot ships that violated the Turkish ban are the Warnow Whale, the Mona S and the Strofades 3. The Warnow Whale is registered as property of a Greek Cypriot company called Melva Shipping Co., but entered the Turkish ports flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, an island in the eastern Caribbean.

Official records show the ship docked at Ambarli port in Istanbul on 3 July. According to records, it loaded its cargo at the port and headed to Marsaxlokk in Malta. The same ship arrived at the Gebze port from Greece on 19 July. Separate records show it departed from Gebze to Marsaxlokk on 25 July and arrived in Gebze from Marsaxlokk on 1 August.