Greek gunboat captain replaced after nudging incident
The Hellenic Navy General Staff (HNGS) replaced the captain of a gunboat involved in an incident with a Turkish cargo vessel near the island of Lesvos on Friday morning, military sources said.
The gunboat "Armatolos" was on patrol as part of a NATO operation against migrant smuggling in the Aegean Sea when a Turkish boat approached and nudged it, the Greek navy said earlier in a statement.
According to the sources, the replacement was already planned for the near future, but was expedited as a result of the collision.
The HNGS leadership wants to send a message to all navy crews to be alert and operational, although, as the same sources point out, the navy is not responsible for the incident.
The Hellenic Navy has ordered an investigation into the collision.
