Cargo Ship Sinks After Collision Off Istanbul, 10 Crew Members Missing

A Turkish cargo ship sank after colliding with another vessel in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul early Wednesday, leaving all 10 members of its crew missing, Turkish authorities said. A major search-and-rescue operation has been launched to locate the sailors.

The collision occurred at around 3 a.m. local time, approximately 32 kilometres south of Silivri, a district on Istanbul’s European side. The cargo vessel, identified as the Tugberk Imamoglu, was travelling from Iskenderun in southern Türkiye towards Eregli on the Black Sea when it collided with the Turkish-flagged tanker Alsu.

The cargo ship was carrying rolled steel at the time of the accident. Authorities said the vessel sank rapidly, with Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stating that it went down within about 11 minutes. All 10 people aboard, including the captain, are Turkish nationals.

Search teams have recovered a lifeboat and other debris believed to belong to the Tugberk Imamoglu, but no crew members have been found. Two helicopters and 12 search-and-rescue vessels have been deployed to scour the area. The depth of the sea at the location is also expected to make the operation particularly challenging.

An emergency signal from the cargo ship was received after the collision, and the first rescue vessel reached the area shortly afterwards. Authorities later concluded that the vessel had likely sunk after repeated radio calls went unanswered and crew members could not be reached by phone.

The tanker Alsu, which was travelling from Kocaeli towards Aliaga on the Aegean coast, suffered no major visible damage in initial assessments and has also joined the search effort.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. The owner of the Tugberk Imamoglu has claimed that its captain warned the tanker before the accident, alleging that navigational movements by the Alsu contributed to the collision. No immediate response to the allegation was reported from the tanker’s owners. The incident occurred in one of the world’s busiest maritime regions. The Marmara Sea forms part of the Turkish Straits system, connecting the Black Sea with the Mediterranean through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Heavy commercial traffic in the area makes maritime safety and navigation particularly important. The search for the missing crew members is continuing as Turkish authorities investigate the circumstances that led to the collision and sinking