Near-Miss to a disaster in the Istanbul Strait: Tanker RAVA went adrift

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The 249-meter long crude oil tanker named RAVA,while  passing through the Bosphorus, went adrift towards ashore after  Yeniköy due to a machine malfunction.

The 249-meter long crude oil tanker named RAVA,while  passing through the Bosphorus, went adrift towards ashore after  Yeniköy due to a machine malfunction.

While the Bosphorus passage from  north-to-south, the Croatian-flag tanker named RAVA, 249 meters long laden with crude oil, drifted ashore due to a machine failure. The tanker, which was able to stop just 300 meters before the shore, was intervened with the pilot onboard and Kurtarma 8 tugboat belonging to the General Directorate of Coastal Safety.

The following statement was made from the Coastal Safety Twitter account:

“The 249-meters long Tanker RAVA, while passing through thre Istanbul Strait from north-to-south under the escort and our tugboat,  went out of control due to machine malfunction on the Yenikoy turn, but after successfull intervention of pilot and tugboat, successfully taken in control and anchored before 300 meters to the shore.  Istanbul Strait traffic has been suspended.

There was no loss of life, property or environmental pollution. The Istanbul Strait traffic, which is closed, will be opened to traffic at around 22:00 at the end of the operation. The tanker will be towed to the Yeşilköy C anchorage area.

Another cargo ship, 292 meters long, was coming from behind when the incident occurred. With the help of our Pilot, who was on the cargo ship coming from behind, the danger was averted by urgently anchoring in Büyükdere.”

UPDATE: The 249-meter long tanker named RAVA, which malfunctioned during the Bosphorus crossing, was safely anchored in Yeşilköy C anchorage area as of 2230. Bosphorus traffic was also opened as north-south.