A Turkish cargo vessel rammed into the Greek gunboat “Armatolos” about four nautical miles southeast of the Greek island of Lesvos in eastern Aegean, in the early hours of Friday.
According to the Hellenic Navy the incident occurred in Greek territorial waters at 04.00 local time (01.00 GMT) after the Turkish cargo “Karmate” ignored warnings to change course.
There were no injuries or serious damage to the gunboat.
The cargo vessel did not stop and continued its course towards the Turkish coast.
The Hellenic Navy said NATO authorities had been informed, as the gunboat was on patrol as part of an allied operation.
Greek defense sources say it’s too early to speculate on whether the incident was an accident or a deliberate act by the Turkish vessel.
This is the second time in a space of few months that a Turkish vessel rams a Greek gunboat.
On February 12, a Turkish Coast Guard vessel rammed into the Greek patrol boat ‘Gavdos’ near Imia.
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