Photo Emerges of Damage to Turkish Ship After Collision with Greek Frigate

A photograph made public by Greek daily Kathimerini on Wednesday purportedly reveals the damage sustained to the right side of the stern of Turkey’s frigate the Kemal Reis  during the collision on August 12.
The collision occurred when the Kemal Reis sought to obstruct the Greek frigate Limnos which was monitoring the movements of the Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis above the Greek continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean.
Greek defense sources told Kathimerini that the attempted obstruction prompted the Greek ship to turn to avoid a head-on collision — and in the process, the Limnos impacted the rear of the Turkish frigate with its bow. The same sources added that the Limnos narrowly missed hitting the Turkish vessel’s pump room.

Here are some better-quality pictures of the purported damage sustained by the Turkish Kemal Reis frigate a few days ago, after it was "touched" by a Greek frigate, following dangerous maneuvers by the Turkish ship's captain. (via @protothema) pic.twitter.com/puAcpEUnrU

— The Greek Analyst (@GreekAnalyst) August 19, 2020

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate during a short conversation over the radio, during which the commander of the Greek vessel, Ioannis Saliaris, reportedly told the Defense Minister that he had done his duty during the incident.

The minister also spoke by phone with his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, making it clear that Greece is prepared to enter dialogue with Turkey in the framework of international law as long as Turkey immediately withdraws its warships and seismic research vessels from the Greek continental shelf.