Greek Warship, Turkish Cargo Ship Collide in Eastern Aegean Sea

A Greek warship and a Turkish cargo ship have collided in the eastern Aegean Sea.

The Turkish-flagged Karmate put on speed and made off into Turkish waters after the pre-dawn incident on Friday, ignoring radio messages from the Greek Armatolos gunboat to stop, Hurriyet daily reported citing Greek navy statement.

The navy said the collision in Greek waters southeast of the island of Lesbos was caused by the Turkish ship breaching international shipping safety rules.

Thr 180-foot (55-meter) Armatolos was taking part in a NATO operation to stop migrant-smuggling, the navy said.

The incident comes amid heightened tension between Greece and Turkey over Aegean territorial rights.