Shocking moment giant cargo ship with mechanical fault smashes into bank of the Bosphorus strait as people flee in terror
- The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from city of Odessa in Ukraine
- It prompted authorities to close the picturesque and crowded waterway
- Video filmed by an eyewitness showed moment ship slowly hit the shoreline
This is the shocking moment a giant cargo ship with a mechanical fault collided with the shore in Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait.
It prompted authorities to close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey’s largest city on Friday.
The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from Odessa in Ukraine and was headed for Istanbul’s port of Ambarli, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.
This is the shocking moment a giant cargo ship with a mechanical fault collided with the shore in Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait
There were no injuries or casualties, the governor’s office said, adding that the ship reported engine failure shortly before the collision.
The Bosphorus was temporarily closed to traffic, and the ship was to be towed, it added.
One video filmed by an eyewitness showed the moment the cargo ship slowly hit the shoreline near Rumelihisari, an iconic Ottoman fortress on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait.
The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from Odessa in Ukraine and was headed for Istanbul’s port of Ambarli, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data
The Bosphorus is a narrow, natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in northwestern Turkey
There were no injuries or casualties, the governor’s office said, adding that the ship reported engine failure shortly before the collision
According to the governor’s office, the coast guard, police and search and rescue teams were sent to the area after the collision.
Such accidents are rare on the Bosphorus, which is among the world’s busiest waterways for shipping, and is vital to Russia and other Black Sea states.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has revived plans in recent weeks to dig a canal on the western fringes of Istanbul to ease traffic on the Bosphorus, despite opposition from the city’s new mayor, environmentalists and hundreds of petitioners.