Tanker disabled in Bosphorus taken under control

ISTANBUL

A product tanker reported as disabled after mechanical failure while transiting the Bosphorus has been taken under control after it drifted for some distance.

According to Istanbul Marine Traffic Control Center, the 183-meter-long tanker named “ATOLL” suffered steering failure early on March 12 while passing under the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, which connects Istanbul’s European and Asian sides.

The tanker dropped anchor and rescue boats came and saved it in time.

The General Directorate of Coastal Safety announced late March 12 that the tanker was taken under control around the Kuruçeşme neighborhood of the Beşiktaş district.

“Three rescue towing boats responded in time,” it said on Twitter.

On April 7, 2018, a Malta-flagged tanker was stranded under the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Bridge, one of Istanbul’s three bridges, and hit a restaurant on the shore on the Anatolian side.