A second engineer lost his life on board the 13,213-dwt Malta-flagged oil/chemical tanker Torc on Monday.
A boiler explosion occurred on board the 2010-built ship, which is under the technical management of Istanbul-based Besiktas Shipping, around 14:05lt (16:05 İstanbul time) on January 8, 2024, while she was sailing from Agio Theodoroi, Greece to Genoa, Italy.
At this explosion, the second engineer Mehmet Altaş was severely injured.
Immediately after the incident, the Italian port authorities and coast guard, Ankara MRCC, and Republic of Türkiye ministry of foreign affairs were contacted for immediate evacuation of the crew.
However sadly, the second engineer passed away a short while after the incident, whereafter the Italian authorities cancelled the helicopter evacuation and instructed the vessel to proceed to Genoa, Italy.
Besiktas Shipping is coordinating the incident in close contact with the Malta Flag State authorities, The General Consulate of Türkiye in Milano, and The Embassy of Türkiye in Rome.
The vessel will arrive at the Port of Genoa on 11th January 2024 in the morning hours.
After the investigation by the Italian authorities, the company has arranged an investigation to be performed by an international expert organization for the incident analysis, and will share the results.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague. We share the pain of our brother and offer our heartfelt condolences and patience to his family, relatives, friends, and colleagues,” Besiktas statement read.
Besiktas Shipping is a third-generation shipping company of Besiktas Group and dates back to 1960s.
Today the company owns 34 ships of oil/chemical tankers (28), bulk carriers (2), crude oil tankers (2), containers (1) and ethylene carriers (1).
