Ship traffic through the Bosphorus in Istanbul was suspended in both directions in the early hours of Thursday after a cargo ship suffered a machinery failure and dropped anchor off Kanlıca, on the strait’s Asian shore, Demirören News Agency (DHA) and Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The vessel, the 139-metre Alisuvar Mammadov, flies the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. DHA first reported the breakdown at 01:44. The Directorate General of Coastal Safety (Kıyı Emniyeti), which runs rescue and towing services in Turkish straits, sent its tug Kurtarma 5 to the scene, and Coast Guard units were also deployed, according to the reports.
Update, 10:22: Anadolu Agency (AA) reported in an updated story that the Bosphorus has reopened to ship traffic in the south-to-north direction after the Alisuvar Mammadov completed its passage under the escort of rescue tugs. The reports did not give an exact reopening time or say when north-to-south traffic would resume. İhlas News Agency (İHA) had reported earlier that the fault was repaired and the ship set off escorted by a Kıyı Emniyeti rescue tug. (Sources: AA via Star, AA via Yirmidört.)
Ship moving again under escort
In a report carried by CNN Türk at 07:42, AA said the failure had been repaired and the ship was continuing its passage under the control of rescue tugs. AA said the strait would reopen to traffic once the cargo ship completed its transit. The reports we read did not give an exact time for the resumption of two-way traffic, and DHA’s earlier report said no information on reopening had been shared at that point.
No injuries or pollution were mentioned in any of the reports.
Second closure in three days
The Bosphorus links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. Earlier this week the strait was also closed in both directions while a damaged tanker was towed, as we reported on Tuesday.
Sources
- İstanbul Boğazı’nda gemi trafiği geçici olarak askıya alındı (AA via CNN Türk)
- Kanlıca açıklarında makine arızası: Kargo gemisi demirledi, Boğaz’da geçişler durdu (DHA via Son Dakika)
- İstanbul Boğazı’nda gemi arızası! Trafik çift yönlü askıya alındı (DHA via Karar)
Photo: Moonik / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
