Russian-run Firm Reports November Incident with Turkish Vessel

A Russian-run energy company in Crimea said on Monday a Turkish vessel sparked an incident in the Black Sea last month by refusing to give way to a convoy of Russian ships.

The alleged incident took place on November 24, the company said, the same day Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border, leading to the biggest crisis in ties between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.

Chernomorneftegaz, a state energy company based in Russian-annexed Crimea, reported the encounter only on Monday, a day after Russia claimed one of its destroyers in the Aegean Sea had opened fire to avoid a collision with a Turkish fishing boat.

It said the Black Sea incident happened as a Russian navy missile boat and border patrol vessel were escorting a convoy transporting its oil rigs. 

"Acting in violation of international norms preventing a collision of ships at sea and commonly accepted norms of navigation, a Turkish vessel did not give way to the convoy," it said.

A patrol boat from the Russian FSB security service's border guard and a missile boat from the Russian Black Sea Fleet forced the Turkish-flagged trade vessel to change course before the convoy continued its journey, the company said.

The company said it had transported the two drilling rigs worth more than $350 million from the Odessa gas deposit due to "a complicated international situation" at the request of the regional authorities.

The defense ministry and the FSB security service did not comment.

After the downing of the warplane, which led to the deaths of a pilot and another serviceman who attempted to rescue him, Russia introduced economic sanctions against Turkey and beefed up its firepower at its airbase in Syria.