TANKER AND FREIGHTER COLLIDE IN TURKEY'S BOSPORUS WATERWAY

An oil tanker and a freighter collided in the Bosporus, or Strait of Istanbul, just before midnight Mar. 13, bursting into flames, killing as many as 30 persons, and closing the strait to traffic.

Cypriot registered 130,000 dwt tanker Nassia and Cypriot registered cargo vessel Ship Broker collided near the Black Sea entrance to the strait. The waterway connects the Black and Marmara seas, allowing access through the latter to the Aegean Sea.

The accident occurred just after the northbound cargo ship had dropped its pilot after passing through the strait and as the southbound tanker was about to take a pilot on board.

POSSIBLE CAUSE

An unconfirmed report said the accident was caused by pilot error. The freighter's pilot was said to have ordered the two vessels to move in close so he could transfer to the tanker. As the vessels slowed they were said to have lost steerage and smashed together in the current.

An Oil Companies International Marine Forum (Ocimf) official said the collision did not appear to be related to the problem of negotiating one of the narrow parts of the strait.

The Bosporus is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. It is 19 miles long, narrows to 700 m in places, and has fast, unpredictable currents. It is also one of the main sea routes for crude oil exports from Russia (OGJ, Mar. 7, p. 38).

Nassia was said to be owned by Eurotankers Inc., Piraeus, Greece, and to be on charter to Urals Trading, which sold the cargo to Agip SpA. It is a single hull vessel built in 1976.

The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko), Oslo, confirmed that Eurotankers is an Intertanko member and was working to make the vessel safe and limit pollution.

Intertanko said 30 crew were reported killed in the accident and more injured. A full investigation was said to be expected by the maritime administration of Cyprus.

SALVAGE, FIREFIGHTING

Eurotankers hired Smit International, Rotterdam, to put out the blaze, then salvage the tanker and any remaining crude oil in its cargo tanks.

A Smit spokesman said the tanker was carrying 98,500 metric tons of crude oil from the Urals area, which was being exported from the Russian port of Novorossiysk to Genoa, Italy.

The Smit official said Mar. 15 the tanker was still ablaze. Two firefighting vessels were on station.

Nassia had been towed back into the Black Sea and moored near the mouth of the strait. The vessel was maneuvered by Smit to face into the wind to help control the blaze. The fire was said to be mainly in the No. 1 cargo tank.

Smit was unable to confirm how much crude oil had been spilled from the tanker and was concentrating on putting out the fire before surveying could begin. The fire was expected to be extinguished by the weekend of Mar. 19 and 20.

An official at environmental campaigner Greenpeace said one report from the area predicted 80,000-85,000 metric tons of the tanker's cargo could be saved if the fire was out by Mar. 16.

Lloyd's of London said oil escaping from the tanker was being viewed as a minimal impact spill. Greenpeace said the main concern for wildlife was dolphins which lived in the strait. Local fishing areas and shellfish beds were also said to be threatened.

The accident follows hard on a move by the Turkish government to impose restrictions on tanker traffic in the strait.

In May the International Maritime Organization will debate Turkish proposals to separate northbound and southbound vessels in two shipping lanes (OGJ, Mar. 7, p. 34).

The strait was closed to traffic during firefighting, and vessels were queuing up at both entrances.