Impossible to repair damages to Greek navy minesweeper, sources say
The severe damages suffered by a Greek navy minesweeper which collided earlier on Tuesday with a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship outside the country’s main port of Piraeus cannot be fixed, according to sources.
The navy ship Kallisto was essentially cut in two in the accident and crews had to tow its two parts separately to a naval base on the nearby island of Salamina.
It is still not clear why Kallisto and the Maersk Launceston container vessel, which had been heading to Turkey with 22 crew on board, collided.
Coast Guard officials said the polish captain of the container vessel is being questioned at Piraeus’ Central Port Authority which has conducting the initial investigation.
Nobody has been arrested yet in connection with the crash.
The Portuguese-flagged vessel, which remains anchored off the port, will be examined by a classification society to determine if it is safe to sail.
All 27 navy crew members of the Greek minesweeper were rescued in a coast guard operation which included three coast guard patrol boats, a coast guard special forces unit, a navy ship and helicopter and four tug boats.