###### Abstract  
Crete is located in the Southern Aegean, in the southernmost part of the Hellenic Trench. Given the large number of earthquakes in the region generated by the convergence of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, the research area is critical. More than 7000 manually revised events from 2018 to 2023 were used in this work to construct local 1D velocity models of Crete and the neighbouring areas. The P-wave velocity models were constructed using the spatiotemporal error minimisation method estimated using the HYPONVERSE algorithm. At the same time, the V\({}_{\mathrm{P}}\)/V\({}_{\mathrm{S}}\) ratio was obtained using the Chatelain method, which compares the time difference in P and S phases recorded by pairs of corresponding stations. We then relocated the seismicity of the study area that was recorded by both permanent and temporary seismic networks during the abovementioned period. The double-difference algorithm was used to release events with magnitudes above the magnitude of completeness, resulting in more than 4500 precise relative locations with horizontal and vertical uncertainties of less than 2.5 km. The precise locations delineated faults both on the island and in the offshore study area. Furthermore, the results are discussed and compared with the ones derived from other significant previous works presented recently. The final dataset analysis contributes to a better understanding of the research area's seismicity as triggered by local and regional tectonic structures. v 202  
in local scale and the creation of extensional faults in approximately the WNW-ESE and NNE-SSW directions [3; 13; 14; 15]. In the Cretan Sea, north of Crete, three primary tectonic depressions are present, located between the Southern Cyclades and Crete, Karpathos, and Rhodes. The main tectonic structures in the region are oriented NW-SE to the west and NE-SW to the east, illustrating the curvature of the Hellenic Arc. The broader area of Crete is characterised by complex geodynamics where transprressional tectonics dominate the southern part of Crete, in contrast to normal and strike-slip forms on the shallow part of the crust, producing a heterogeneous stress field [16; 17]. In contrast, in the north, the area between Santorini and Crete, extension is observed [18; 19; 20; 21]. The latter shows extension in a general E-W direction, while N-forward shortening was observed in Western Crete [22]. Specifically, the faults in the area of Western Crete are divided into six categories, according to [23], whose directions are: (a) N130\({}^{\circ}\) E, (b) N100\({}^{\circ}\) E, (c) N020\({}^{\circ}\) E, (d) N075\({}^{\circ}\) E, (e) N050\({}^{\circ}\) E, and (f) N160\({}^{\circ}\) E. Ref. [6] determined that of the fault categories mentioned above, we find mainly normal faults (a-d), while (e) and (f) refer to strike-slip faulting, with sinistral and dextral motion of the slip components, respectively. On the contrary, in Central and Eastern Crete, extension is observed in the NE-SW and NW-SE directions as [24] mentioned. Figure 1: Main tectonic features in Greece and Western Turkey. The black rectangle contains the study area. Abbreviations-HT: Hellenic Trench; NAT: North Aegean Trough; SAVA: South Aegean Volcanic Arc. Fault traces (red lines) derived by [3; 13]. Blue and green arrows indicate trend of the major (S1) and minor (S3) principal stress axes, yellow arrows show the strike-slip motion on the projected faults [16]. Crete's seismicity, in both the historical and instrumental periods, is mainly related to the geodynamics of the Aegean and Mediterranean plate convergence, and events of shallow depth characterise it (<25 km) [7; 25; 26; 27; 28]. The lack of uniform and optimal coverage with seismic stations on the island and local velocity models is a significant disadvantage in highlighting the earthquake distribution in areas near or along the HT. The latest essential sequences led to an amelioration of the local station coverage, improving the available catalogues.