Turkish Cargo ship sinks in in Sea of Marmara

The Turkish authorities were alerted to an emergency signal at 6:30 a.m. on February 15 from the cargo ship “Batuhan A,” a 69-meter general cargo vessel that sunk off İmralı Island.

An operation to save the six crew members onboard has commenced.

The Turkish-flagged ship succumbed to severe storms, taking on water and sinking, with efforts launched to locate the crew.

In the statement made by the General Directorate of Coastal Safety, it was noted that KEGM-6 and KIYEM-4 fast rescue boats were immediately directed to the scene for the 69-meter-long general cargo ship named “Batuhan A”. The rescue boats arrived at the region and started search and rescue operations.

Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of the Interior, confirmed the incident in the Sea of Marmara, off Bursa Karacabey and said that coast guard ships were dispatched to the scene.

The Turkish Coast Guard dispatched two Coast Guard ships and two Coast Guard boats to the scene of the incident. Simultaneously, two tugboats were assigned to the region by the General Directorate of Coastal Safety.

As a result of the search and rescue activities initiated, one empty life raft was detected in the area where the ship was considered to have sunk.

A Coast Guard Corvette and an aircraft were assigned to arrive in the region to support search and rescue efforts.

A helicopter, which could not be transferred to the region due to adverse weather conditions, is waiting ready and will be transferred immediately if the weather conditions allow.

It was added that the search and rescue activities were still underway.