Defense minister congratulates frigate captain, confirming Greek-Turkish ship collision

Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate that accidentally collided with a Turkish ship during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean last week, in a move that officially confirmed the incident.

Doing their brief talk over the radio, Commander Ioannis Salaries told Panagiotopoulos that he had done his duty.

The incident occurred while the Turkish Oruc Reis survey ship was moving between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete, shadowed by a number of Greek frigates.

On August 12, frigate Limnos was sailing near Oruc Reis when it came into the path of one of the Turkish naval escorts, the Kemal Reis.

The Greek frigate manoeuvred to avoid a head-on collision and in the process its bow touched the rear of the Turkish frigate, according to a Greek defense source that spoke to Reuters.