Ship snaps towline in storm and runs aground off Istanbul’s Çatalca

An empty Liberian-flagged merchant ship being towed off Istanbul’s Çatalca district drifted and ran aground near Çilingoz Nature Park after its towline snapped in a storm. No crew were aboard and no fuel leak or pollution was found.

A Liberian-flagged merchant ship under tow in the Black Sea ran aground off the Çatalca district of Istanbul, on the coast near Çilingoz Nature Park. Coast Guard and Directorate General of Coastal Safety teams were dispatched after an alert at 1:33 p.m.

Footage captured huge waves crashing into the vessel.

Towline snapped in the storm

According to maritime sources, a Cameroon-flagged tug began towing the ship toward İğneada port on Oct. 12. Storm conditions and high waves off Çatalca broke the towline. The tug’s captain told the vessel traffic services he could not make headway and would shelter at İğneada, and the drifting ship grounded on the Çilingoz shore.

The ship that ran aground off Çatalca

Empty ship, no pollution found

The ship was reported to be completely empty with no crew on board. Coast Guard inspections around the vessel found no fuel leak or pollution. The Istanbul Regional Port Authority has begun work to refloat the ship and move it out of the area.

It has been claimed that the ship had earlier been struck in Russia and was being moved to a safe area, a claim not confirmed by the authorities.