Incident Occurs During Turkish Navy Exercises In Aegean Sea

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23



By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:



An incident with Greek Coast Guard cutters occurred during the "White Hurricane 2014" ("Beyaz Fırtına-2014") exercises, carried out by the Turkish navy in the Aegean Sea, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on May 23.



Several Coast Guard cutters of the Greek island Kos [an island, located near Turkey] approached the Turkish warships, which prevented their maneuvering.



In response, the Turkish patrol cutters began approaching the Greek coast guard cutters, forcing their retreat to the island of Kos.



The Turkish navy ships began the exercises in the Aegean Sea on May 22.



The exercise involves 53 ships, four patrol aircraft and 13 naval aviation helicopters, 17 patrol coast guard cutters.



The exercises will finish on June 1.



Turkish Naval Forces were established in 1920. Currently, some 48,600 people serve the country's navy. The Turkish Naval Forces include 215 ships and 41 naval aviation aircraft.



edited by CN