10 missing as Turkish cargo ship sinks after collision off Istanbul
A Turkish cargo ship sank in the Marmara Sea near Istanbul after colliding with a second vessel, with rescuers searching for its 10 crew members, Turkish officials said Wednesday. The incident occurred before dawn when the ALSU, an empty oil tanker, collided with the Tugberk Imamoglu, a cargo ship carrying rolled steel which sank shortly ...
A Turkish cargo ship sank off the coast of Istanbul after colliding with another vessel, leaving ten crew members missing, according to Turkish officials. The incident occurred shortly after dawn when the empty oil tanker ALSU collided with the cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu, which was transporting rolled steel and subsequently sank.
Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated that the sinking happened within 11 minutes of the collision, which was reported at 3:15 am. The damaged vessel was found to have sunk very quickly, with only life buoys and a lifeboat discovered, both empty. No survivors have been found yet, as the search and rescue operations were ongoing.
The collision took place 18 nautical miles off Silivri, a district on the western edge of Istanbul province, in waters approximately 900 meters deep. The Tugberk Imamoglu, a Turkish-flagged cargo ship built in 1990, was carrying 4,200 tons of rolled sheet metal and rebar at the time of the collision. The maritime directorate initially reported the tanker carrying 3,000 tonnes of motor oil, but this was later clarified.
The incident came three days after a deadly ferry accident in Northern Cyprus, where eight Turkish nationals died, and another 20 people remain missing. The last fatal shipwreck in the area occurred in September 2018, when a ferry sank, leaving one person dead and four missing.
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