Overview
- The two Turkish‑flagged ships collided in the Sea of Marmara early Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu sank within about 11 minutes with its 10 crew now missing and presumed dead.
- Search-and-rescue teams recovered a lifeboat and debris but have found no survivors and have not yet reached the wreck or recovered the voyage data recorder from the site roughly 18–20 nautical miles south of Silivri.
- A prosecutor‑commissioned expert report says the tanker ALSU had multiple safety breaches, including no lookout on the bridge, an inexperienced officer left alone on watch, and the captain reportedly asleep, which the report calls serious negligence.
- The same report found the Tugberk’s automatic identification system (AIS) was not functioning and that the cargo ship unexpectedly altered course to starboard shortly before the ships met, complicating fault assessments.
- Silivri prosecutors have arrested the ALSU captain (A.E.) and the third‑in‑command (M.E.) on negligent‑homicide charges, detained other crew and opened wider legal and technical probes as authorities try to recover evidence and review safety practices in the busy Turkish Straits.