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Turkish roro fired on by Greek coastguard

Greek coastguard ships shot at a Turkish roro sailing in the Aegean Sea on Saturday.

There were no casualties in the shooting 20km southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday.

After “harassment fire” from two Greek vessels, two Turkish coastguard ships went to the area and the Greek vessels left, the Turkish coastguard reported with the the Greek coastguard confirming it fired “warning shots” at a ship “moving suspiciously” in what it claimed were Greek territorial waters off the island of Lesbos, an area is known for many ships bringing migrants from Türkiye to the European Union.

The captain of the ship refused to allow an inspection and was later escorted to nearby Turkish waters, said Greek coastguard officials.

Video footage from the Turkish coastguard shows what appears to be a bullet hole in a window and in the ceiling of the Anatolian roro’s bridge.

Tension between old foes Türkiye and Greece has been escalating considerably in recent weeks.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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