ISTANBUL: Dramatic underwater images released by the Turkish Navy have revealed a large breach in the hull of the cargo ship Tuğberk İmamoğlu, which sank off Istanbul after colliding with an empty oil tanker.
The wreck was located at a depth of approximately 710 metres, around 18 nautical miles, or 33 kilometres, south of Silivri.
The Turkish Navy’s rescue and towing vessel TCG Akın located the shipwreck, with an underwater robot capturing images and video of the vessel.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gül visited the naval vessel on Saturday and was shown footage from the operation.
A naval officer said the remotely operated underwater vehicle captured four images around the bow and video of the ship’s middle section, where the extensive hull breach could clearly be seen.
Authorities have not yet determined whether the breach was caused directly by the collision or occurred as the vessel sank.
Ten crew members remain missing
The Tuğberk İmamoğlu was carrying around 4,199 tonnes of rolled steel and reinforcing bar when it collided with the empty oil tanker ALSU shortly after 3 a.m. on Wednesday.
The cargo ship reportedly sank in just 11 minutes.
By Saturday, rescuers had still found no trace of the ship’s 10 Turkish crew members.
“The families now want to know whether the crew is still inside and how they will be recovered,” Governor Gül said.
The vessel has no reported connection to Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor. Maritime records identify Zeybe Shipping and Trading Ltd. as the ship’s owner and manager.
Investigation points to serious safety failures
A preliminary marine accident report prepared for prosecutors has identified several safety failures aboard the ALSU and described them as the main cause of the collision, according to a copy reviewed by Agence France Presse.
The report found that there was no helmsman or lookout on the tanker’s bridge at the time of the accident.
The tanker’s captain was reportedly asleep in his cabin, leaving a third officer, who had only recently joined the vessel, alone on watch.
Investigators also found that the Tuğberk İmamoğlu’s Automatic Identification System, which broadcasts a vessel’s identity and position to nearby ships, was not functioning.
The report said the cargo ship turned across the tanker’s bow shortly before the impact.
A Turkish court has jailed the ALSU’s captain and third officer pending trial on charges related to negligent homicide.
Prosecutors in Silivri are continuing to investigate the deadly collision as authorities face mounting pressure to determine what happened to the missing crew and whether their bodies remain trapped inside the wreck.
Source: Agence France Presse, via Turkish Minute
