By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Özgür Özel's team is preparing to apply for a new political party as more than 90 lawmakers consider leaving the CHP.
A deadly drone attack on the Turkish-flagged MV Reyhan Sarı has also brought the Black Sea shipping war closer to Türkiye's commercial routes.
Özgür Özel Camp Prepares New Party Application
Preparations for a new political party led by Özgür Özel are nearing completion, with an application to Türkiye's Interior Ministry expected in the coming days.
Zeynel Emre, an Istanbul lawmaker and spokesperson for the group aligned with Özel, said the organisational work was in its final stage.
Özel and more than 90 lawmakers were due to meet on Thursday. Nefes reported that those joining the new organisation were expected to sign their resignations from the CHP and submit them to the Speaker of Parliament.
The resignations and party application had not been officially confirmed as completed at the time of publication.
A transfer on that scale would allow Özel's organisation to form the largest opposition group in parliament, while Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would retain the CHP's legal identity, headquarters and historic name.
The party's name, founding list and registration date remain unconfirmed.
Reyhan Sarı Reaches Trabzon After Deadly Drone Attack
The Turkish-flagged cargo ship MV Reyhan Sarı arrived at Trabzon Port on Thursday after being struck by a drone while carrying coal from Russia to Türkiye.
One Turkish crew member was killed and two others were injured.
The injured personnel were evacuated for treatment before the vessel continued towards Trabzon under its own power despite sustaining material damage.
Local reporting said police, medical teams, firefighters and disaster-response personnel were deployed at the port after the ship docked.
The body of the crew member who died remained aboard immediately after the vessel's arrival while preparations were made for its removal.
The ship is expected to remain in port while its cargo is unloaded and the damage is examined.
The party responsible and the origin of the drone have not been established publicly.
The attack extends a pattern already exposing Türkiye through ship ownership, Turkish crews and commercial routes, and now through a vessel sailing under the Turkish flag, as examined in this Bosphorus News analysis of the risks to Türkiye-linked shipping.
Türkiye Says S-400 and F-35 Settlement Is Closer
Türkiye says it is closer to resolving its dispute with the United States over Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act measures and its exclusion from the F-35 fighter programme.
Deputy Foreign Minister Levent Gümrükçü said Turkish and American officials had established political and military working groups to examine options compatible with U.S. law and Türkiye's security and economic requirements.
Gümrükçü described the Russian-built S-400 purchase as a one-time acquisition made to meet an urgent air-defence requirement.
No agreement on the future of the system has been announced.
Türkiye's return to the F-35 programme would require the S-400 issue to be resolved and would remain subject to U.S. legal and congressional scrutiny.
Reports that Ankara could transfer the systems to a third country have not produced a confirmed destination or formal arrangement.
The KAAN fighter programme is moving on a separate track. A proposed U.S. package covering F110 engines, integration, testing and technical support completed its congressional review period without being blocked.
The engines would support KAAN's early production phase while Türkiye continues work on a domestically developed powerplant.
No fresh delivery or contractual development was announced on Türkiye's F-16 programme.
Greece Accelerates Military Technology Overhaul
Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said Greece had fallen behind in military technology while an unnamed threat had moved ahead.
Dendias linked the gap to the slow integration of unmanned systems and said the Hellenic Armed Forces would accelerate the adoption of new technologies.
He did not identify Türkiye as the threat.
Türkiye remains a central reference in wider Greek defence planning, particularly in the Aegean, but Dendias's remarks were not a direct accusation against Ankara.
Athens is pursuing its 2030 military overhaul alongside Achilles Shield, a layered programme covering anti-missile, anti-aircraft, anti-drone, anti-ship and anti-submarine defence.
The overhaul combines island-based sensors, distributed defensive nodes, unmanned systems and faster command-and-control integration, as examined in the Bosphorus News report on Greece's military technology gap.
Dendias presented the deficit as a problem Athens believes already exists rather than a future possibility.
Türkiye Opens Eastern Mediterranean Monitoring Network
Türkiye has opened the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services system linking a control centre in Gazimağusa with three coastal surveillance stations and maritime infrastructure in Mersin.
The HAVELSAN-built network includes stations at Dipkarpaz, Sadrazamköy and Çayırova, supported by radar, cameras, communications equipment, meteorological sensors and Automatic Identification System data.
Information collected by the network can also be transmitted to the Vessel Traffic Services centre in Mersin, allowing vessel movements between Türkiye and northern Cyprus to be monitored from both locations.
The system is designed to support vessel identification, navigational warnings, traffic management and faster coordination during accidents, fires and other maritime emergencies.
The full network and its integration with Türkiye's maritime infrastructure are detailed in Bosphorus News coverage of the Eastern Mediterranean vessel monitoring system.
Red Sea Attack Deepens Chokepoint Pressure
Yemen's Houthis said they targeted the Saudi oil tankers Encelia and Layla in the Red Sea after threatening vessels using Saudi ports.
Saudi Arabia confirmed that Encelia was struck and caught fire near Jizan. Its crew was reported safe.
Maritime security reporting said the ship was hit by an unidentified projectile. The Houthi claim concerning Layla had not received the same level of independent confirmation.
The attack increases pressure on Saudi Arabia's western oil export route while commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely restricted.
Saudi Arabia uses its east-west pipeline to carry crude from the Gulf coast to Yanbu on the Red Sea, allowing part of its exports to avoid Hormuz. Threats near the Red Sea outlet weaken that alternative.
Oil prices rose as traders assessed disruption risks at both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
The United States also continued air operations against Iranian targets as the conflict placed further pressure on commercial shipping and energy infrastructure.
Higher insurance costs, vessel diversions and uncertainty over port access can disrupt energy trade without a complete closure of either route.
Germany Seeks More Azerbaijani Gas
Germany wants to expand energy cooperation with Azerbaijan and secure additional Caspian gas supplies.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a declaration in Berlin covering natural gas, renewable power, hydrogen, energy efficiency and infrastructure.
No new purchase agreement, delivery volume or timetable was announced.
Aliyev said higher exports would require additional production, pipeline investment and long-term commitments from European buyers.
Any substantial increase reaching central Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor would cross Türkiye before continuing through Greece, Albania and Italy.
Aliyev also criticised European restrictions on financing conventional energy infrastructure while governments continued asking Azerbaijan for more gas.
The financing, production and pipeline limits behind Germany's request are examined in Bosphorus News coverage of additional Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe.
Hamas Leader Thanks Türkiye for Gaza Mediation
Newly elected Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya thanked Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar for their mediation efforts in his first televised address after taking the movement's top post.
Al-Hayya asked the mediators to press Israel to implement existing agreements and move negotiations into their next stage.
He called for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and reconstruction without forced displacement or political conditions.
The speech did not announce progress on Hamas's disarmament, the sequence of an Israeli withdrawal or Gaza's future administration.
The remarks came one day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi credited Türkiye with helping prevent armed Iranian Kurdish groups based in Iraq from opening another front against Iran.
The two statements placed Ankara in separate efforts involving Gaza mediation and the containment of escalation around Iran.
Al-Hayya's first address and Türkiye's place alongside Egypt and Qatar are covered in the Bosphorus News report on Hamas's continuing Gaza mediation channel.
The acknowledgment confirmed Ankara's position in the talks but did not amount to a new agreement.
Türkiye-Built LNG Containership Enters India Service
Kaşif Kalkavan, the first and largest liquefied natural gas-fuelled containership built in Türkiye, has entered service on Turkon Line's India route.
The 4,000-TEU vessel was built by Sedef Shipyard as the first of two sister ships ordered for Turkon Line.
The two vessels are expected to increase the company's fleet capacity by about 50 percent.
Kaşif Kalkavan can operate on liquefied natural gas and four conventional marine fuels. It is also equipped with systems designed to control nitrogen oxide and sulphur emissions.
The service connects ports in Türkiye, Europe, the Red Sea and western India and is integrated with Turkon's cargo network to the United States.
The vessel's construction, fuel systems and deployment are detailed in Bosphorus News coverage of Türkiye's largest domestically built LNG-fuelled containership.
Its entry into service comes as attacks near Bab el-Mandeb raise costs along the Türkiye-India maritime route.
Strategic Take
The Reyhan Sarı attack has pushed Türkiye's Black Sea exposure from ownership and crews to a vessel sailing under the Turkish flag.
Russia wants Ankara to condemn Ukrainian strikes on maritime logistics more explicitly. Ukraine says its operations target systems supporting Russia's military effort and export revenues. Türkiye continues to trade with both countries while refusing to assign responsibility without verified evidence.
Renewed Houthi attacks add pressure on the Red Sea route used by Turkish trade and Turkon Line's new India service.
Ankara is also strengthening surveillance between Mersin and northern Cyprus while seeking a formula with Washington that could remove CAATSA restrictions and reopen the F-35 question.
Özgür Özel's expected departure from the CHP could create a new parliamentary opposition group, but its size, name and formal structure remain dependent on resignations and registration procedures that had not been completed at the time of publication.
Sources: Türkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, Greece's Defense Ministry, German government, Azerbaijani presidency, Reuters, İhlas News Agency, Sabah, Taka Gazete, Nefes, Aposto, maritime security reporting, Bosphorus News review and reporting
Read yesterday's brief: Eastern Mediterranean Strategic Brief | July 22, 2026