Efforts continue to rescue seamen after cargo ship ran aground off Samsun

SAMSUN - Anadolu Agency

Bad weather battering Turkey has stalled rescue efforts to save 10 seamen trapped on a cargo ship which ran ashore near the northern port of Samsun.

The cargo vessel - carrying a shipment of soybeans - ran ashore as it was nearing the port in the northern coastal province of Samsun.

The “Gulf Rio” was en route from Ukraine but began to drift as one of its two anchors broke free on early Jan. 7 due to heavy seas, said Aydın Ünal, the chairman of Samsun Port.  
  
Turkish coast guard crews were unable to reach the vessel due to high waves; a helicopter is now expected to be dispatched to the scene to rescue the crew.    

Ünal said the situation was not critical and teams had been working since dawn to rescue the ten people on board.

The efforts to rescue both the crew and the vessel are continuing, added Ünal.