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.