Turkish Boxship Arriving from Russia Breaks Down and Blocks Bosphorus
A Turkish-owned containership that regularly travels the Black Sea from Russia broke down overnight while transiting the Bosphorus. It came to rest, according to the reports, just meters from some of the wealthy homes of Istanbul in the Yenikoy district.
The ship named Kappa (13,700 dwt) is Turkish-owned and managed and was reported to be coming from Novorossiysk, Russia, to Körfez, Turkey, east of Istanbul on the Sea of Marmara. Built in 2007, the vessel is 148 meters (485 feet) in length with a capacity of 1,118 TEU.
The reports are that the ship experienced a steering issue and lost control. It was driven onto the northern shore of the waterway in a heavily populated district. The waterfront is lined with some of the wealthier homes of Istanbul.
The Turkish authorities reported that two rescue tugs and a high-speed boat were dispatched along with a dive team to survey the area. Traffic on the Bosphorus was suspended from about 0200 until 0750 on April 28, according to the report.
The tugs were able to refloat the vessel and accompanied it to an anchorage south of the Bosphorus. Divers also inspected its hull, and it was later moved to a berth in Izmir, Turkey.
The Turkish safety authority, KEGM, reports frequent mechanical issues on vessels transiting the busy waterways. Two days earlier, it said its tugs had to tow the containership Med Beykoz (41,667 dwt) after it had a problem in the Canakkale Strait (Dardanelles) without having to suspend traffic in the region.
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