Ankara, Sept. 2 (SANA) A Turkish cargo ship carrying 4,199 tons of steel is feared to have sunk after colliding with an oil tanker in the Sea of Marmara early Wednesday, with search and rescue teams looking for its 10 crew members, Turkish authorities said.
Türkiye’s Directorate General of Maritime Affairs said the dry cargo ship TUĞBERK İMAMOĞLU collided with the empty oil tanker ALSU about 18 nautical miles south of Silivri, off the coast of Istanbul.
The ALSU was heading to Aliağa, while the TUĞBERK İMAMOĞLU was bound for Karadeniz Ereğli when the collision occurred.
The directorate said contact with the cargo ship and its 10-member crew had been lost and the vessel had failed to respond to repeated calls, raising fears that it had sunk.
Turkish Coast Guard vessels and a helicopter were deployed to the area as search and rescue operations intensified. Authorities said a lifeboat belonging to the missing vessel had been found floating in the sea.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office earlier confirmed that the two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels had collided before dawn and said emergency teams had been dispatched to the scene.
Turkish waters have seen similar maritime accidents. In December 2022, the cargo ships Burhan Duzman and Turan collided off the Ahırkapı anchorage near the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait.
T.S /ABD
