Turkish tugboat suffers accident in the Black Sea

Officers of Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out an operation to rescue seven Turkish sailors who were aboard a tugboat that suffered an accident in the Black Sea near the Romanian resort locality of Neptun.

"The Turkish-flagged tugboat Ayaz Bey sent an international distress signal (Mayday) at around 04:20 after it collided with the vessel Mentor, which is flying the flag of Antigua and Barbuda," according to a statement on the ministry's website.

According to preliminary information, two Turkish tugboats — Ayaz Bey and Ramazan Bey — were towing the vessel Mentor, which had earlier been damaged in Ukrainian waters near the port of Odessa, en route to Turkey; there was no crew aboard the towed vessel. "At night, in adverse weather conditions, the towing cables broke," the statement notes. "They were later restored, but the tugboat Ayaz Bey collided with the vessel."

Two vessels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took part in the rescue operation, as well as a vessel of the Romanian Agency for Saving Human Lives at Sea (ARSVOM).

Later, the ministry's press service reported that three crew members had been taken aboard the Dutch-flagged tugboat Odin and would be delivered to the Romanian port of Mangalia, while four others refused evacuation, stating that they did not need assistance. "The tugboat Ayaz Bey is currently at anchor," Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs notes.

Source: TASS