A cargo ship that ran aground in the Bosphorus Strait after suffering a steering failure and came within a few metres of colliding with a mansion on the coast of Istanbul was successfully refloated in the early hours of 28 April, allowing maritime traffic to resume on one of the world’s busiest waterways.
The Turkish-flagged container ship ‘KAPPA’, 147 metres in length, had entered the Strait sailing from the Black Sea when it ran aground during the night just metres from a seaside mansion located in Yeniköy, a neighbourhood in the district of Sarıyer on the northern European coast of Istanbul. The vessel came to a halt just before colliding with the building.
Following around six hours of damage assessment and inspections carried out by coastguard teams and divers, the vessel was towed and refloated by the tugs Kurtarma-5, Kurtarma-6 and Kurtarma-8. The cargo ship was subsequently moved out of the strait and anchored in a safe location. During the transfer operation, the Bosphorus Strait remained closed to maritime traffic, according to the Turkish news agency İHA.
In a statement, the coastguard confirmed that traffic in the strait had been suspended in both directions as a precautionary measure whilst the vessel’s recovery and transfer operations were underway. After several hours of coordinated work, the authorities confirmed that the vessel had been successfully refloated and moved to a safe location.
Once the operation was complete, maritime traffic through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul reopened at 7.50 am local time (6.50 am CET), bringing the temporary disruption to an end. Turkish authorities have pointed out that this same cargo ship had already suffered another mechanical failure in 2022 near Kandilli, on the city’s west coast, which at the time also caused a blockage of traffic through the strait.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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