A 148-meter-long container ship ran aground within meters of Bosporus waterfront mansions in İstanbul on Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a more serious crash after authorities said the vessel lost control during its passage through the strait.
The Turkish-flagged ship, identified as the KAPPA, ran aground off Yeniköy in İstanbul’s northern Sarıyer district while traveling from Russia to Kocaeli, an industrial province east of İstanbul, according to Turkey’s Directorate General of Coastal Safety.
The agency said it sent tugboats, a dive team and a fast rescue boat to the scene. Ship traffic through the Bosporus was suspended in both directions while rescue work was underway.
The ship reportedly had a steering failure and stopped only a few meters from the nearby waterfront mansions, raising fears of a crash in one of the most densely settled parts of the strait.
The Bosporus, which divides İstanbul’s European and Asian sides, is one of the world’s busiest waterways and a key passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It also cuts through residential areas, where large commercial vessels pass close to homes, ferry terminals and historic waterfront properties.
After inspections by divers and rescue crews, the ship was re-floated under the coordination of the İstanbul Vessel Traffic Services Center, the coastal safety agency said.
The vessel was later escorted to an anchorage area west of central İstanbul. There were no immediate reports of injuries or pollution.
The grounding brought renewed attention to the risks posed by heavy commercial traffic through the Bosporus, where mechanical or steering failures can quickly become emergencies because of the proximity of shoreline neighborhoods.