Turkey's Coastal Safety Responds to Machinery Failures on Two Merchant Vessels

Turkey's General Directorate of Coastal Safety (KEGM) responded to two merchant vessels' machinery failure incidents on 6 August. The vessels were escorted to nearby anchorages without any report of marine pollution.

Vessel REGAL 1, image credit: Ahmet Motraji

The first incident involved the Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker Regal I with no cargo onboard, which suffered a machinery failure while transiting the Canakkale Strait off Gelibolu. The vessel went adrift, prompting KEGM to dispatch tug Kurtarma 18. The tug escorted the tanker safely to the Sevketiye Anchorage.

The second incident involved the Barbados-flagged general cargo vessel Ocean Mary that became disabled after experiencing a machinery breakdown in the Sea of Marmara near Gelibolu while sailing from Yalova to Aliağa. KEGM deployed tugs Kurtarma 19 and Kurtarma 18. The two tugs assisted the distressed vessel, subsequently escorted it to the Doganarslan Anchorage, where it safely dropped anchor.

Authorities reported no injuries, structural damage, or marine pollution in either incident.