A video shows the crew fleeing as the ship, already dangerously listing, capsizes with its sides against the dock. The toll is one minor injury
Accident in the port of Istanbul, Turkey, where around 4 am on December 23 a cargo ship capsized, before sinking. The crew managed to save themselves and the toll, which could have been a massacre, is of a Crew who was slightly injured in the haste of the escape.
The Comoros-flagged container ship AMNAH was loading containers at Istanbul’s Ambarli port when it started listing toward the dock and eventually capsized on its side while docked, sending huge containers falling into the water.
Footage from port security cameras and bystanders captured crew members trying to escape the sinking vessel. Some were seen running from deck to deck as the ship capsized. Other videos showed the ship lying on its side, its sides against the dock walls.
Turkish officials said there were 15 crew members on board, five of whom jumped into the water and were rescued by nearby tugboats. One crew member suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital.
Authorities responded quickly to the scene of the accident, deploying floating barriers to contain any oil spills and try to minimize the environmental impact of the sinking ship.
The AMNAH vessel was built in 1996, is 101 meters long, 18 meters wide, has a draft of 4.6 meters and a Gross Tonnage of 3,999 GT. Until recently it operated for the Russian shipping company Fesco.
The vessel arrived at the port of Ambarli, Turkey on Dec 22, 13:45 UTC. The vessel AMNAH (IMO 9126259, MMSI 620999661) is a Container Ship built in 1996 (28 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Comoros.
According to the records, the ownership has been transferred to a company in Belize, effective October 2024, managed from Turkey. According to preliminary findings, the vessel was loaded incorrectly, causing it to lose stability. An investigation has been opened to determine whether errors occurred during the loading process
