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A Turkish dry cargo ship’s third officer was killed and several other crew members were wounded after the ship was shelled off the Libyan coast and attacked from the air, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated on May 11.

Ankara has issued a diplomatic note in protest at the Libyan authorities, and the ship is returning to Turkey after asking for an escort, a Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News.

The Cook Islands flagged ship named “Tuna-1” was approaching Tobruk Part to deliver sheetrock cargo taken from Spain when it was shelled late on May 10 in international waters 13 miles away from Tobruk Port, the ministry said in a written statement on May 11, noting that the ship was also attacked from the air twice as it tried to leave the area.

The ministry condemned the attack and said Ankara conveyed its protest to the Libyan authorities and asked them to end actions against the security of other Turkish ships in the region, including the “Tuna-1.” It also demanded legal action to be taken against those responsible for the attack, the statement added.