Route allegations in Silivri ship collision

Following the collision of two commercial ships off the coast of Silivri in the Sea of Marmara, contact was lost with the ship named "Tuğberk İmamoğlu," which had 10 personnel on board. Search and rescue operations by Coast Guard and Coastal Safety teams are continuing by air and sea in the area where the ship is believed to have sunk.

Making a statement after the accident, Tahsin Doğruyol, the owner of the Tuğberk İmamoğlu, stated that their ship was proceeding on its own route and alleged that the ship named ALSU was on a "path it should not have been on." Doğruyol also claimed that the captain had attempted to contact the other ship before the accident.

Doğruyol argued that the first notification after the accident came from the emergency device on the Tuğberk İmamoğlu, stating that the notification from the ALSU ship was made later. Regarding the empty life-saving equipment found in the area, he said, "Our crew must have tried to lower the lifeboats, but we don't know what happened if they couldn't get inside. Hopefully, they have been rescued."

EMERGENCY SIGNAL RECEIVED AT 03:26

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that an emergency call reached the Main Search and Rescue Coordination Center via the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system at 03:26 in the early morning. Uraloğlu stated that the system, known as EPIRB, transmits the ship's location and call information in an emergency.

According to Minister Uraloğlu, after attempts were made to reach the ship via Turkey Radio, the captain of the ALSU ship returned the call and reported that they had collided with a ship around 03:15. Following this confirmation, Coastal Safety and Coast Guard units were dispatched to the region.

The General Directorate of Maritime Affairs had previously announced that the emergency signal was determined to belong to the Tuğberk İmamoğlu ship. The statement noted that the captain of the ALSU tanker reported to the Vessel Traffic Services Center at 03:41 that they had collided with a ship whose identity they did not know.

As the Tuğberk İmamoğlu is not responding to calls and the personnel on board cannot be reached by phone, it is assessed that the ship may have sunk. It was reported that search and rescue activities are continuing in the area, where the sea depth is stated to reach 800-900 meters.

News Source: 12punto