Son of missing captain of sunken ship: 'My father kept saying this ship would sink'

Search and rescue operations by air, land, and sea are continuing for the 6 crew members of the Batuhan A, a ship loaded with 1,250 tons of marble dust that sank off the coast of İmralı Island after being caught in a storm following its departure from the Marmara Island district of Balıkesir. It has emerged that the ship's second captain, Hasan Mehmet Uyanık, had repeatedly said the ship would sink.

"THIS SHIP WILL SINK, BUT LET'S HOPE FOR THE BEST"

While the hopeful wait of the crew's relatives continues at the crisis center in the Kurşunlu neighborhood of Karacabey, it has been revealed that the ship's second captain, Hasan Mehmet Uyanık, told his son, Abdullah Uyanık, before setting sail, "This ship will sink, but let's hope for the best."

Abdullah Uyanık said, "The news arrived as of yesterday. I called my father afterward, but I couldn't reach him. We were waiting at home, and then we came here. The SOS alert was given at 06:32 and the signal was lost at 07:12. I want this to be investigated. How can they not reach them in the Sea of Marmara in a 40-minute window? This is not the Black Sea, this is not the Mediterranean. I also worked on ships for 3 years. Okay, nothing will come back after this point, but measures need to be taken for the future."

"HE KEPT SAYING THIS SHIP WOULD SINK"

Uyanık continued his words as follows:

"My father was a very experienced sailor. He rose from being a sailor to a captain. He had at least 40 years of experience. I last communicated with him a few days before he set sail. He kept saying, 'This ship will sink.' Because it was an old ship, I told him to quit, but he wouldn't leave because he loved his job. The ship was very old. This ship and others like it need to be scrapped."