Greeks fire shots at Turkish freighter

Greek authorities had an incident with a Turkish freighter suspected of transporting drugs after it refused to stop for an inspection.

Coast Guard authorities confirmed firing warning shots at the freighter called "ACT" which had entered Greek territorial waters near Rhodes on Monday.

"Today in the afternoon, the coast guard authority of Rhodes received an anonymous report according to which the cargo ship 'ACT', flying the Turkish flag, which sailed in the maritime area east of the island of Rhodes, was carrying narcotics. The aforementioned coast guard authority was immediately mobilized and one of its vessels located the ship under the name 'ACT' flying the Turkish flag in the maritime area 3.5 nautical miles northwest of Rhodes, within Greek territorial waters.

The crew aboard the coast guard vessel requested the captain of the cargo ship to sail towards the cove of Trianda in Rhodes, in order to conduct an inspection.

The captain of the 'ACT' did not follow the orders nor did he respond to the sound signals emitted by the coast guard vessel and as a consequence, warning shots were fired, without however the cargo ship changing its course. On the contrary, the 'ACT' continued its course into Turkish territorial waters while the coast guard vessel stopped to pursue it once it had reached the borderline. In parallel, the competent Turkish authorities were informed of the matter,’’ said a statement from the Greek Coast Guard authority.