New Delhi, February 16, 2024: BATUHAN A, a cargo ship carrying six crew members, sank on Thursday in the Turkish inland Sea of Marmara, off Istanbul, amid strong waves as high as 10 feet, prompting Turkey to initiate a search and rescue operation.
BATUHAN A departed from Badalalan on Wednesday night; shortly after 6:00 AM on Thursday, they made a distress call, and a little more than an hour later, the vessel disappeared.
The Transport Ministry, Navy, and the Governor of Busa released a statement stating the ongoing search and rescue operation South of Istanbul. A total of 275 personnel, comprising a Coast Guard Corvette, three additional patrol boats, boats from the Coastal Safety team, a mine hunter, and a Navy rescue ship, have been deployed in the search and rescue operation for six crew members who are Turkish nationals. According to media reports, the owner of the ship is one of the six crew members who went missing.
A search team discovered a life preserver bearing the ship’s name and an inflatable life raft. Subsequently, the Naval force stated that its team used sonar technology to locate the ship at a depth of 51 meters according to the reports published in fleetmon.com.
BATUHAN A is a 1971-built general cargo vessel acquired in 2018 by the new owner. Since 2001, there have been no port inspections on record for the vessel, and the last one available lists 17 shortcomings. The 1000 dwt, BATUHAN A, mostly operated domestically outside international maritime laws.
Earlier, in 2021, the vessel went aground at the port in Canakkake province, Northwest of Turkey, in an attempt to unload an unspecified cargo.
