Turkish Coastguard Launches Urgent Search After Cargo Ships Collide Off Istanbul

Turkiye’s coastguard has initiated a search and rescue operation following a collision between two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels off Istanbul, which resulted in a loss of contact with one ship and its 10-person crew.

According to a statement released by the Istanbul governor’s office on Wednesday, the incident occurred at 3am (00:00 GMT) in the Marmara Sea, roughly 20 miles (32 kilometres) south of Silivri, a suburb of Turkey’s largest city.

The impact involved the Turkish-flagged Alsu, which appeared to sustain no damage, and the Tugberk Imamoglu, also flagged to Turkey, whose crew could no longer be reached following the crash.

The governor’s office announced that "Numerous naval units from the coast guard’s Marmara and Bosphorus Command and a coast guard helicopter were dispatched to the scene."