Greek coastguard ships opened fire on a cargo vessel sailing in international waters in the Aegean Sea, escalating tensions with Turkey that have mounted in recent weeks, according to Al Jazeera.
There were no casualties in the shooting 11 nautical miles (20km) southwest of the Turkish island of Bozcaada on Saturday, a Turkish coastguard statement said.
After “harassment fire” from two Greek vessels, two Turkish coastguard ships went to the area and the Greek boats left, it added.
The Greek coastguard confirmed it fired “warning shots” at a ship “moving suspiciously” in Greek territorial waters off the island of Lesbos.
The captain of the cargo ship refused to allow an inspection and was later escorted to nearby Turkish waters, said Greek coastguard officials, noting they informed maritime authorities in Turkey about the incident.
The area is known for many ships bringing migrants from Turkey to the European Union countries of Greece and Italy. The Greek coastguard says it regularly checks ships behaving suspiciously in the Aegean.
The Turkish statement said the gunfire was “in disregard of the rules of international law”. The 18 crew members of the Anatolian consisted of six Egyptians, four Somalis, five Azerbaijanis and three Turks.
A Turkish prosecutor ordered an investigation. The country has also protested to Greek authorities, with Ankara demanding a swift investigation and explanation.
The Anatolian was anchored on Sunday in the Dardanelles Strait off the Turkish coast, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
Last week, the Greek government wrote letters to NATO, the EU, and the United Nations, asking them to formally condemn increasingly aggressive talk by Turkish officials and suggesting tensions could escalate into open conflict.