Cargo ship sinks in Marmara Sea with 6 crew members

BURSA

Search and rescue units on Feb. 15 initiated efforts to locate six crew members onboard a cargo ship that sank in the Marmara Sea in the country’s northwest.

Teams were alerted to an emergency signal at 6:32 a.m. on Feb. 15 from the cargo ship "Batuhan A," a 69-meter cargo vessel that sunk off İmralı Island.

Authorities revealed that the vessel departed from Marmara Island's Badalan Port at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, intending to transport a load of 1,200 tons of marble powder to Gemlik Port.

After the signal with the ship was abruptly lost as of 7:12 a.m. on Feb. 15, the teams determined that the vessel succumbed to severe storms, taking on water and sinking, with efforts launched to locate the crew, all of whom are presumed to be Turkish citizens.

The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry stated that the search helicopter failed to take off due to the stormy conditions at sea, adding that units conducting searches from the sea reported spotting an empty lifeboat.

The sunken ship is linked to a maritime company in Balıkesir's Bandırma district, local media reported, noting that the owner of the company is believed to have been onboard the vessel, while his sibling participated in the search and rescue efforts in the Karacabey Kurşunlu region.

Reports also unveiled that the same ship had run aground off the coast of Çanakkale three years ago, and its crew were rescued after a two-day rescue operation.