ISTANBUL, 19 Nov. Bulk carrier Pallada flying the flag Cameroon ran aground and broke in half due to a storm near the port of Eregli in the Turkish province of Zonguldak, the maritime department of the country's Ministry of Transport said.
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"All 13 crew members were successfully evacuated from the ship. After evacuation, the ship broke in half due to difficult weather conditions,” says the department’s press release.
It is specified that the incident occurred around 10:00 local time (coinciding with Moscow time). According to the Marinetraffic portal, the ship left the Ukrainian Odessa on November 3.
In addition, another bulk carrier Kafkametler flying the Turkish flag gave an alarm. The captain of the ship reported that it was drifting towards the breakwater in the port of Eregli. The department noted that it has not yet been possible to establish contact with the ship due to the storm, and a rescue operation has been launched. According to the department, the ship with 12 crew members was heading from the Russian Temryuk to the port of Aliaga in the Turkish province of Izmir.
Forecasters announced the penultimate, orange level of threat in Istanbul for the weekend due to hurricane speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour in places and downpours. The warnings also apply to several other regions of Turkey. As a result, no serious incidents occurred in Istanbul, and the wind was not as strong as expected. At the same time, snow fell in a number of areas, which melted almost immediately. The main blow of the disaster fell on the Black Sea coast. In particular, in the province of Zonguldak, schools will be closed on Monday due to bad weather. In Istanbul, only in the suburb of Sile on the Black Sea coast were primary and secondary school students released from classes.