Greek Navy Vessel, Containership Collide off Piraeus Port

A Portuguese-flagged container vessel collided with a Greek navy minehunter off the Greek port of Piraeus early on Tuesday, seriously damaging the Greek ship, authorities said.

TV images showed the navy vessel Kallisto tilting on its side and sinking, and a big part of its stern was missing. A tug boat later towed it to the Salamina naval base.

Two people were slightly injured and transferred to hospital, a coast guard official said, adding that the Greek navy vessel’s 27-member crew had been taken to safety.

The 266-metre long container ship Maersk Launceston was not damaged.

It was not immediately clear how the collision happened, the official said. Piraeus port authorities, which launched an investigation, had temporarily banned the container ship from sailing.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ed Osmond)