Greek coast guard boats leave area after Turkish retaliation

ANKARA

Two Greek coast guard boats opened fire on the Comoros-flagged Ro-Ro ship “Anatolian,” sailing in international waters off the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said on Sept. 10.

The Greek coast guard boats left the area after Turkish naval forces intervened, it said.

There were no casualties or injuries to the 18 personnel on board the ship, including six Egyptian, four Somali, five Azerbaijani and three Turkish citizens.

Currently, the vessel is being escorted by two coast guard boats. An investigation was initiated regarding the incident by the Çanakkale public prosecutor.

Immediate action was taken in diplomatic missions in Ankara and Athens before Greece, and the incident was protested, diplomatic sources said.

Drawing attention to the gravity of the incident, it was demanded that the incident be investigated immediately and an explanation be given, the sources said.

Initially named the “Mavi Marmara” and known for the Israeli attack 12 years ago, “Anatolian” was later converted into a cargo ship.

It was sold to a company in an auction in November last year due to its mortgage and foreclosure and then started to serve as a cargo ship.

Relations between Türkiye and Israel were frozen in 2010 after the deaths of 10 civilians following an Israeli raid on the ship “Mavi Marmara,” part of a flotilla trying to breach an Israeli blockade by carrying aid into Gaza.