New construction and equipment contracts are adding to the military infrastructure at Souda Bay and the Marathi piers, including 20 expeditionary bunkers, ammunition-related works and new equipment designed for the berthing of U.S. submarines.
The developments have prompted renewed criticism from the Pan-Cretan Committee Against Bases and Military Involvement, which says the projects demonstrate an expanding military role for Souda Bay.
But beneath the political arguments is a straightforward fact: new U.S. military infrastructure is being procured and built in the Souda Bay area.
Twenty New Bunkers at Souda and Marathi
A U.S. Navy contract awarded on March 13, 2026, provides for 20 “expeditionary bunkers” at various locations at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay and at the K9 and K14 piers at Marathi.
The contract is valued at approximately $2.85 million. U.S. procurement records identify the work as construction at NSA Souda Bay and the Marathi piers.
Another March contract, worth approximately $4.4 million, covers the renovation of the YK-9 ordnance tunnel, including a concrete apron supporting the receipt, storage and issuance of ordnance.
That makes the development considerably more specific than the usual broad statements about “upgrading” the base.
New Equipment for Submarines
On September 18, the U.S. Navy awarded a contract worth $447,874 for two large submarine fenders at NSA Souda Bay. The equipment is designed to protect vessels and infrastructure during berthing.
Reporting on the procurement identifies K14 at Marathi as the intended location.
The equipment itself does not establish that a particular U.S. submarine is scheduled to arrive, nor does it by itself demonstrate the creation of a new submarine base. What it does establish is that the U.S. Navy is investing in equipment specifically intended to support the safe berthing of its submarines at Souda Bay.
And There Is More on the Horizon
The infrastructure programme is not limited to individual contracts. In July, the U.S. Navy’s Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) began market research for a new indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity construction contract covering renovation, repair, maintenance, alterations and demolition work in the Souda Bay area.
The potential contract has a ceiling of $40 million over a one-year base period plus seven option years.
Importantly, that figure is a maximum contract ceiling, not €40 million or $40 million already spent on construction. The procurement documents describe a framework under which individual projects could subsequently be ordered.
That distinction matters.
Why the Developments Are Drawing Attention
The Pan-Cretan Committee Against Bases and Military Involvement argues that the new works represent an expansion of Souda’s role in U.S. and NATO military operations.
The committee has linked the developments to Greece’s broader defence and foreign-policy decisions and criticised the government’s military cooperation with the United States, NATO and Israel.
It is calling for:
- No further expansion of Souda Bay
- Closure of U.S. and NATO military bases
- Greece’s disengagement from overseas military operations
- The return of Greek military personnel serving abroad
The committee is also urging organisations and residents to support a nationwide petition promoted by the Greek Committee for International Détente and Peace (EEDYE).
Those are the committee’s political positions, rather than descriptions of the U.S. procurement programme itself.
Souda’s Strategic Importance Is Nothing New
The significance of Souda Bay predates these latest contracts. The facility has long been a major naval and logistics location in the Eastern Mediterranean, supporting both Greek and allied military activity.
What the current procurement record adds is a more detailed picture of how the infrastructure is being maintained and expanded: construction at the base and Marathi piers, work involving ordnance-handling infrastructure, and new equipment for submarine berthing.
For Crete, that raises questions that go beyond the politics of any individual party or organisation.
How much military infrastructure is being added? What is its intended long-term use? What environmental, safety and infrastructure implications accompany that expansion? And what role does the Greek state have in decisions concerning facilities operating on Greek territory? Those are questions worth asking regardless of one’s position on the alliance relationship.
