Ten small Turkish fishing boats attacked an Italian fishing boat 27 miles off the Turkish coast Tuesday morning, according to a La Repubblica article.
The Italian newspaper reports that the crew of the fishing vessel “Michele Giacalone” was trying to catch red shrimp and was located northeast of Cyprus.
The fishmonger had sailed from Mazara del Vallo in Sicily and after being attacked, initially with stones, it was rammed by a Turkish boat. The “Margottini” frigate helicopter immediately headed to the area of the collision.
The boat’s captain Luciano Giacalone reported the incident to the Turkish port authorities and shortly after a frigate of the Italian Navy, the Margottini, was deployed to the area to defuse the situation along with a Turkish patrol boat.
Giacalone spoke to reporters after the incident and called on the EU to clarify the situation once and for all.
“We need to know where it is safe for us to fish, this situation is getting out of control.
“This is the second attack we had to endure in the space of a week, the first one from Libyan boats and now from Turkish ones. We want to work knowing that we are safe,” he said.
