Maritime accident in Marmara causes fear

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

The accident occured when a cargo ship brushed against two other anchored vessels as it was attempting to find shelter from strong winds and currents. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

A maritime accident nearly caused a ship to sink off the coast of Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district Jan. 20 after a cargo ship brushed against two other anchored vessels as it was attempting to find shelter from strong winds and powerful currents.

“It is impossible for [the ship] to sink. We cannot fully intervene due to [adverse] weather conditions. The most we can do would be to strand the ship if the captain agrees to it [...] Evacuating the crew is not on our agenda at the moment,” said Salih Orakçı, the head of the Directorate General of Coastal Safety.
Tugboats towed the ship bearing a crew of 13 to a safer location near the district of Bakırköy where the ship’s crew began discharging water that reportedly began seeping through a crack in the hull on the backside of the ship, causing it to tilt. Maritime authorities dispatched scuba divers, tugboats and other rescue ships once they were notified of the accident by the captain of the cargo ship Kayan 1, which was flying a Sierra Leone flag and sailing on its way from Egypt to Ukraine.

The two vessels the cargo ship brushed against, the Slochterdiep and Adria Blu, were also damaged, according to reports.

Authorities cancelled a number of scheduled ferry lines in the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara due to the powerful winds and strong currents.