ISTANBUL: Turkey’s navy has located the wreckage of a cargo ship that sank in the Sea of Marmara after colliding with an oil tanker, with all 10 crew members still missing, officials said Saturday.
The wreck of the Tugberk Imamoglu, which was carrying rolled steel, was located by the Turkish Navy’s TCG Akin vessel at a depth of about 710 metres (2,330 feet), Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said.
“The TCG Akin vessel of our Naval Forces Command, which we are currently aboard, has located the wreck of the sunken ship,” Gul said in a video shared by the governor’s office on X.
A naval officer accompanying the governor said an underwater robot deployed near the bow of the vessel captured four images of the wreck.
“At a depth of 710 metres, we obtained four images using an underwater robot deployed near the bow section of the Tugberk Imamoglu,” the officer said, pointing to footage showing a large rupture in the vessel’s midship section.
The cargo ship sank “very quickly” following the collision earlier this week with the ALSU, an empty oil tanker, in waters around 18 nautical miles off Silivri, west of Istanbul.
Officials said the area where the vessel sank is approximately 900 metres (3,000 feet) deep. All 10 crew members aboard the cargo ship remain unaccounted for.
Gul said the families of the missing sailors were seeking answers about whether the crew members were still inside the sunken vessel and how recovery operations could be carried out.
“The families now want to know whether the crew is still inside and how they will be recovered,” Gul said, adding that the relevant authorities would continue efforts to answer those questions.
Meanwhile, an expert report prepared for prosecutors has raised concerns over safety procedures aboard the tanker.
According to the report, seen by AFP on Thursday, multiple safety procedures were breached aboard the ALSU.
“The fundamental root cause ... resulting in a catastrophe, was the deficiencies and failures on the bridge of the M/T ALSU,” the report said.
The tanker’s captain and third officer were arrested on charges of negligent homicide, prosecutors said Friday, as investigations into the collision and the circumstances surrounding the sinking continue.
