An incident between a Greek gunboat and the Turkish navy that could have escalated into full-blown conflict, occurred at the islets of Imia, Wednesday. The confrontation happened when Turkish coast guard vessel Koycegiz touched Greek gunboat “Nikiphoros” which was on a scheduled patrol in Greek territorial waters.
When the patrol boat of the Turkish Navy approached Imia, the Greek ship pursued it. At that point, a second Turkish coastguard vessel appeared, which maneuvered around the Greek boat at short distance of about 1-1.5 miles from Imia. The Turkish boat touched gunboat “Nikiphoros” on its port during the incident. The Turkish boat Koycegiz has left the area.
Turkish vessel hits Greek boat near Imia!
Luckily, tension quickly deescalated